New Year At Shermer High
by TBCDreamer
Summary: SEQUEL TO MEANT TO BE. The Breakfast Club returns for their first full year as friends. Brian has a new look and attitude. Claire and Bender give things a go. And Andy and Allison try to put their lives and hearts back together. All in the middle of drama, fun, and chaos. I OWN NOTHING. Not the songs or Hughes characters. PLEASE REVIEW
1. Library Meeting

"_Wait time is the worst__  
__I can hardly sit__  
__No one has the time__  
__Someone is always late_

_I look for you, and you look for me"_

_-Call Me Back, The Strokes_

Claire Standish never thought she'd find herself sitting in the school library, extra early, on the first day of school. This was _not _her normal back-to-school routine; not even close. Every year since 5th grade, she'd done the exact same thing on the first day. She and Annabelle (and later, Charlotte and Erica) would have breakfast at the country club on the first day of school with their parents and then would head to school together, making sure to be among the last kids to arrive, since they were always popular and expected to make an entrance.

Not this year, though. This year, Claire had breakfast with her three girlfriends on Sunday instead of Monday. Instead of riding to school with them, she'd promised to meet them on the lawn, where everyone would be hanging out, in the last fifteen minutes before classes started.

Because this year, she had other plans. Saturday night, she'd called everyone and arranged for the Breakfast Club to all meet up together as early as possible in the school library. "Just like before, only no Vernon." she'd said.

She was the first one to arrive. She couldn't help it. She hadn't seen Bender and Brian since pretty much the last day of school (she didn't know when either of them had gotten back into town, and she didn't want to seem pushy since she and Bender had left things on such good terms), and she hadn't seen Allison since her 4th of July party. There had been a few times she'd ran into Andy, but he had been busy so they hadn't talked much.

She couldn't believe how much she missed them all. It was strange, really—considering that she was the one who'd said they wouldn't be friends at all after detention. The truth was, even while she was in Paris she had missed them terribly. Claire and Erica has crossed paths during their travels, and it had amazed her that she barely even missed her girlfriends. At least, not the way she missed just hanging out with Allison, laughing and relaxing together. There were so many rules with her group (thanks to Erica) and with Allison there were no rules. She could just be herself. She could just…_be. _

Claire had no idea why she was nervous as she sat there waiting for everyone else to show up. What did she think was going to happen? Did she think the four of them had changed that much in just a few months? It was possible. She'd certainly changed since that detention (or, at least, she'd tried to.) Or did she think they'd show up all hating each other like they had in detention?

She didn't have time to worry about that question, because Andy walked in just then. She smiled at him and greeted him.

"Hi! How was your summer?" she said in the voice of the old girly Claire; the voice she always used on the first day of school when she reunited with her friends and asked them that question.

He gave her a small smile in return. "It was okay. It was more work than I've ever done even in sports. But I made a buttload of money, so …" and then he shrugged.

Claire nodded. "It must be nice to actually earn money of your own. Especially for you. With the scholarship you'll probably get, when you get to college you could be, like, the only kid with tons of money to spend how you want."

Andy looked down at the ground then. "Right. Scholarship." He mumbled. He'd never gotten to make his announcement that day when school ended. And now, he wasn't so sure if that announcement had even been worth it. Not since…

The library door opened with a loud bang just then, and in came Allison. She didn't look at all like the Allison who had opened up and blossomed before Claire's eyes by the time school ended. She looked almost exactly like she did when she walked into detention that day all those months ago. Her hair was back in her face, she was wearing a humongous sweater, and Claire was pretty sure…yep, she was back to the "black shit."

Come to think of it, Andy hadn't looked like his normal self either. One thing Claire had always noticed about him, especially after detention, was how he didn't carry himself the way most jocks did, and he didn't dress like one either. Sure, when it was cold he'd wear his letterman jacket to keep warm, but other than that, while most of the jocks donned the prep look or the macho look of tight t-shirts and well-fitted pants, Andy was normally a disinterested dresser. He was always in jeans horribly lacking in style and plain t-shirts that were ugly and unfashionable. But not today. Andy was actually wearing slacks and plaid shirt. And…shoes that weren't sneakers. What was going on?

Claire watched Andy and Allison. The two of them seemed to be doing everything they could to avoid eye contact with each other. She knew that Andy had spent almost all his time working before he left to go visit his mother (he'd only returned from her house that previous Saturday afternoon), so it was more than likely he and Allison had seen each other almost as little as she'd seen Bender. Why weren't they acting like a couple who'd just been reunited after months apart? She'd been hoping they'd be back together by this point.

While Claire was trying to read them (as best as she could considering she didn't have Bender's skills), Andy and Allison were both thinking back to Claire's 4th of July party.

The two of them didn't speak after Allison had ended their relationship. Sure, Andy had tried to call her, and had even showed up at her home (her real home) a few times, but to no avail. It had taken everything in Allison to not give in to the desire to talk to Andy, but she had fought it as best she could. She'd avoided talking to him because if she explained the real reason why she'd broken up with him (not just to make his life easier, but for the sake of him not jeopardizing his future for her), she knew he'd just be able to talk her out of it. She couldn't let him do that; she wanted so much better for him. She cared about him that much.

Frank had actually been called to a work emergency, so it turned out that he and Allison weren't going to be able to leave for Florida until July 15th, instead of leaving at the beginning of the summer like they'd planned. So Allison was going to be in town for Claire's party after all.

She'd been packing for her trip to Florida on July 1st, when it dawned on her that she couldn't avoid Andy forever; not when they had three great friends in common and were destined to run into each other sooner or later. Allison had already sacrificed Andy for his own good; she wasn't about to give up Claire and Brian, or even the irritating Bender. So she realized she'd better try to smooth things over with Andy for the sake of the group.

She'd finally called him on that first of the month. Luckily, he'd just gotten in from work.

"Andy, it's me. Allison." she said softly.

"Allison? Hi! I was hoping you'd call me eventually. Though I am kind of surprised."

"Um… I thought we should talk. About Claire's party."

"Oh." Allison could hear in Andy's voice how deflated he was.

"I'm going to go, since I promised her I'd try to. I was wondering if you were going to go? Just… as a heads up? So it wouldn't be weird."

"Oh," Andy said again. "I mean, yeah. I- I guess I'm going. I was actually hoping you might want to go together? After I'm done with work?"

"Don't, Sporto. Um, what time are you leaving work that day? Because I can go earlier, and then you can go after you're finished work."

Andy had been shocked by Allison's cold nature at first, but then he had become angry after talking to her. Allison was unique; she was her own person. But at the same time, she was kind and gentle. There was no way she'd have to be worried about things being awkward with Andy if the reason she ended things with him was because she just didn't have feelings for him anymore. She'd have just done something crazy to make Andy laugh so that they could be friends again. No, there was more to this story. There was another reason Allison had dumped him. He was so angry that she could dismiss him like that, without even caring about his feelings, and without thinking he at least deserved an explanation.

He had been so angry, in fact that he was determined to move on. As quickly as possible. Which explained why, as Allison was leaving Claire's family's party, she had opened the door to find Andy coming in with some blonde cheerleader on his arm. Allison hadn't said anything; she'd just walked out the door and right past them, leaving Andy to explain to Claire why he was at her party with someone other than Allison.

Needless to say, Claire hadn't been able to believe it when she'd heard. She chalked it up to just Allison being weird Allison. Surely Allison and Andy would be back together before long, right? They were supposed to be the loving, normal, happy-go-lucky couple. Surely they had more of a shot than Claire and Bender. Claire had to believe that they'd get back together. If _they _couldn't work it out, then surely there was no hope for her and Bender.

"So, Allison? How are thi—I mean, um, how are your brothers?" Claire asked.

Allison laid her head on the desk and shrugged. Claire and Andy eyed each other the way they had when Allison had first walked into detention. But there were no smiles and giggles this time. Just curious, intense stares. As if they both realized the same thing at the same time. _She's retreating. _

"Um," Claire said, scrambling her brain trying to find something to fill the silence. "So, Andy, how are things? With, like, your mother?"

"She's… she's Mom. I guess…she's happy. I mean, why shouldn't she be, right? _She _got out. New home, new husband, new son, new life. It was nice to get away from my dad for a while. Not that Mom is perfect. But I guess I'd take her over him any day. Great choice, huh? The non-existent parent or the overbearing controlling one." Andy's eyes looked down at the ground. Claire could tell Allison was listening. She could see that dark, sympathetic look in the basket case's eyes.

Leave it to Bender to save the day. His arrival couldn't have been more perfectly timed.

Bender came barreling through the door, as boisterous as to be expected, with Brian on his heels, laughing. "Look who followed me to school today," Bender said, patting Brian on his back. "Hi, guys,"  
Brian said smiling.

But Claire hadn't noticed Brian or heard him. From the second she looked up and saw Bender walk through the door, her heart had been beating so fast she was almost sure she was going to die from it.

She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even thought it was possible. But she had been wrong, so very wrong. She'd thought there was no way Bender could have looked any better than he did that day in detention, or the last day she'd seen him. What a gargantuan miscalculation that had been. Because Bender looked absolutely gorgeous. He was even more tan than he had been before, slightly taller (at least it seemed that way to Claire), and his hair was even a little longer. He, like Allison, was wearing almost all black—black jeans, black and white flannel, and a black jacket.

As she stared him down, he was greeting the others. "Nice to see good old Klepto is back. Sporto. I'd ask what's with your getup, but I guess it was only a matter of time before all that rolling around on the floor with other guys got to you."

Andy's whole demeanor had changed at the entrance of Bender and Brian. He was smiling now, and trying to appear as confident as possible. "Shut it, Bender. You're just jealous."

They pretended to punch each other, and then Bender turned to Claire. He took her in with his eyes and had every intention of saying some smartass comment about princesses returning to their castle, except that Claire was all over him before he could do much of anything. She was kissing him with all the intensity one would expect of a lovesick teenaged girl who hadn't seen the object of her affection in months.

Claire was shocked when Bender actually blushed as she pulled away from him, realizing that three people were watching them as if they were watching some pornographic movie.

"And welcome back to hell to you, too, Cherry." Bender said, covering with a smirk.

"Geez, get a room you two." Andy said. Brian laughed, and said, "Well, I guess I can't expect that same hello."

Claire blushed as she turned to give him some faux offended retort.

But all coherent thoughts went out of her head when she actually finally took notice of Brian Johnson. Her jaw dropped, and she almost didn't recognize him.

Brian Johnson: stick thin, braces-wearing dork, was gone. In his place was an even taller, thin but slightly meatier young man who had the beginnings of what looked like actual muscle. _This _Brian was without braces, had even more noticeable (it seemed) eyes, and had grown his hair out some, in an actual style that made him look both attractive and semi-cool. He wasn't wearing a dorky sweater and boring khakis that were too small for him. He was wearing a black Ramones T-shirt, denim, and black Chuck Taylors, the same as Allison's. He was actually sort of cute.

"Brian! Look at you!" Claire said, fawning over him like a proud big sister. "You look great." Even Allison had to smile at him.

Brian blushed, but Bender was all smirks. "I guess I finally rubbed off on the guy." He said, putting his arm around Brian as the two boys proceeded to fill the Club in on their summers.

"The road trip? Fucking awesome. Until me and Freddie almost got arrested for causing a riot…" Bender smirked.

Freddie and Bender had been in New York (after visiting Freddie's "comfortably situated" grandmother in Pennsylvania who, because she rarely saw her grandson, had a tendency to spoil him and had given him $200 towards his road trip with "that cute, handsome Bender boy") and were attending a party with one of Freddie's old friends from when he lived in New York. Freddie had a little too much to drink, and a fight had broken out, which led to Freddie and Bender almost getting arrested for "back talk" to the cop, who'd been called to break up the party.

Brian's summer had been rather unexciting, prior to his return to Shermer. In Indiana, Brian and Emma and Kendall had spent their days swimming and playing video games. Kendall had an older sister who had been particularly helpful to Brian this summer. He'd told her about how he wanted to look different when he got back to school, and when she and Kendall had come back to Shermer with Brian and Emma, she'd helped him, giving him a complete makeover.

Brian and Bender laughed at Claire's jealousy upon hearing that someone else, even Brian's own cousin, had given Brian a makeover. She'd had loved to be assigned that task.

Kendall's sister had cheerleading camp, and Emma had begun spending her days playing softball with the neighborhood girls. So Kendall and Brian were on their own. With nothing to do in Shermer, the boys grew bored, and started just aimlessly walking around town.

That was when they'd run into Bender and Freddie, who'd just returned from their road trip. Brian knew he could count on Bender to show Kendall any fun that could be had in Shermer. And if loitering, making a game out of trying to see who could sneak into the most pool halls, and general rambunctious behavior were "fun", then Kendall had more fun than he'd had any other summer in Shermer.

Before Kendall got on the plane to go back to Indiana, he'd said to Brian, "This was the best summer ever." Then he'd added, shaking his head, "Although I have to say, I'm surprised we didn't get arrested."

Andy smiled and said, "So, Bender, I'd ask you about taking me along to some of your, um, venues to introduce me to some of your, um, girlfriends, but it looks like you're the one doing the whole 'steady dates, lovers' thing now," Andy said, eyeing Claire, who would be in Bender's lap if she got any closer to him, "so I won't even ask. Not that I need it or anything. I had my share of make out parties over the summer. "

The other three looked at Allison at Andy's words, to see how she took them (with Claire, word travelled fast. She'd told both Brian and Bender on the phone about the breakup).

Allison had buried her head in her sweater and pretended not be paying attention.

Bender again to the rescue. Or so he tried. "So, Klepto? How's old Frankie boy? Did your parents know you were travelling with him all summer?"

Allison didn't pull her head out of her sweater completely; just enough to shake her head at Bender's words.

Then it was Andy's turn. "So, Claire, what about you? How was Paris?"

And that was it. Claire could have cursed Andy for bringing that up. She had been enjoying so much just being this close to Bender, and existing in the little cocoon that only contained the five of them. The cocoon where she and Bender could be the same and in each other's worlds where differences not only didn't matter, but didn't exist. But as soon as Andy mentioned Paris, it was as if he'd destroyed that little cocoon, that little bubble. That word was basically a trigger word that would only remind Bender of who Claire was, where she came from, and the places she could afford to go that he couldn't. And Claire didn't need or want him reminded of that so that he could pull away from her.

Claire just smiled her teen queen smile and said diplomatically, "It was fine. Great to get to, like, spend time with my brother. But I missed all you guys the whole time." Then she looked at her watch. "Oh my gosh! I'm going to be late! I'm supposed to meet my friends, my other friends, on the lawn!" she began gathering up her things.

"Yeah, I guess we better all go." Andy said, as they all gathered their stuff.

As they walked out and the other three separated (Andy and Claire headed back outside, and Allison headed to her locker), Brian said to Bender, "I'm not sure where my new locker is yet. But if you want to meet me back here at lunch, I'll give you your lunch."

Bender didn't have time to respond. Not that Brian would have been paying attention if he had. Because behind Bender stood Saidie Heyer, who had only gotten back to Shermer on Friday night. This was the first time she was laying eyes on Brian since the last day of school in June.

Bender didn't even have to look to see who Brian was staring at. He could already tell by the two shades of red that Brian was turning. Bender whipped around to greet his friend, who'd been walking and talking with Freddie until she laid eyes on Brian. She was now standing still, grinning from ear to ear, looking right past Bender and directly into Brian's eyes.

His perfect, cloudy blue eyes. She had never noticed just how beautiful and misty they were before. She took a deep breath and inched closer to him. She was so short, and he'd been tall before, but now he practically towered over her. He was looking down directly into her shiny, practically black eyes.

"Hey." She practically whispered.

"Um, hi," Brian said, turning even more red.

Bender stepped toward Freddie and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Come on, numb nuts. Let's leave these two love birds alone." He said. Freddie smiled as Bender dragged him down the hallway.

But Saidie and Brian hardly noticed that they were gone, or that they'd even been there. Brian's brain was too flustered to allow him to say anything. How was it possible that he'd forgotten how gorgeous Saidie was, in her own, unique way? Her hair was down again, and she was actually wearing makeup. Not that she hadn't been beautiful without it. But she was wearing it in a way that it didn't cover up anything, it just highlighted what was already there. Like how her eyes brightened and then darkened and flickered so much, and the lipstick that drew Brian's attention to her enticing lips and pretty smile.

Saidie smiled and touched her hair. "You look absolutely hot." She said softly, in a confident way she could have only picked up from years of hanging out with the likes of John Bender. When Brian blushed even more in response, and tried to say thanks but no words came out, Saidie leaned forward and pulled him toward her. Then she stood on her toes, gently pushed the hair back out of Brian's eyes, and kissed him for the first time.


	2. Decisions and Questions

_But even still at times I wonder__  
__What you're thinking of me__  
__You're probably sure I lost my mind_

_-Around My Head, Cage the Elephant  
_

Andrew Clark hardly knew what had gone on in his first two classes of the school year. He hadn't been paying very much attention. Because all he could think about was Allison Reynolds.

He felt about two feet tall. Andrew knew he had been a total jerk that morning in the library. Not only that, but he knew he'd been a jerk by bringing Samantha Harold to Claire's family's party over the summer. He hadn't been sure if Allison would still be there by the time he got there, but he had definitely wanted her to see him with another girl. He wanted her to hurt the same way he hurt.

That wasn't right. He knew that. But he couldn't help himself. He cared about Allison so much, and she had just pulled away from him for no reason at all. Andy knew that if _he_ had done that, the whole Club would probably hate him, and consider him some coward jerk. But when _she_ did it, he was expected to play nice.

He knew it hadn't been fair to Claire, either. She and Allison were great friends; it was unfair to flaunt an Allison replacement in Claire's face and not expect her to take sides.

But, no. Andy had his pride. He had to be strong. He couldn't show himself to be vulnerable and heartbroken over some freak girl. He had to show the others that he could move on; that he wasn't pining for her.

It was easier said than done, though. Because no matter how much Andy tried not to show it, Allison had been so much more than "some freak girl" to him. Even in the short time they had known each other, they had come to mean so much to each other. Or so he thought. Allison just got him, in a way that no one else ever had. While he'd bonded with all the others in the Club, and they'd seen him for who he really was, Allison had done more than that. Every time she looked at him it had been as if she was seeing _into _him. And Andy knew that he had never felt that connected to another girl before. He wasn't sure if he ever would, or if he even wanted to.

But Allison had made her decision, and there was nothing he could do. Especially if she was not even willing to talk to him about it.

If there was no hope of getting her back, at least he could show her there were no hard feelings by how quickly he moved on. Even if it was the last thing he wanted to do…

That was the reason for his new attire. He wanted to make himself attractive to the kinds of girls he _should _be dating—girls who were the exact opposite of Allison. Girls who wouldn't spit fingernails at him and tell him to eat shit and make him want to do things like go to art shows and not just take easy classes.

But he had bigger things to worry about at the moment. There was one thing that Allison had inspired him to do that he wanted to actually go through with. He wondered if he'd made the right decision about quitting the wrestling team. He'd been avoiding his father, and now he had to figure out how to tell him, his coach, and his friends.

Allison was just as miserable as Andy was, in her own, quiet, less game-playing way. She was more than beginning to regret what she had done, not that she had ever really wanted to do it in the first place. But she couldn't go back now. Not when Andy was already dating other girls, and not when his whole future was at stake. Allison could predict that if their relationship had continued, he would inevitably have had to choose between Allison and his teammates, and Allison had drawn the conclusion that if he chose her it would ruin his entire future.

Her resolve to never admit that she still had feelings for Andy became even stronger when she overheard the conversation of a few girls in her Spanish class before class started.

"Oh my gosh, have you seen Andrew Clark today? He looks so hot." Some blond girl, that Allison knew hung out with Claire, was saying.

The brunette she was talking to was examining her nails and said, "Well, he's certainly dressing better, that's for sure. But, Char, I thought he was dating that cheerleader Samantha again. Claire said that she saw them together over the summer."

"Duh, Annabelle. That's because everyone else in our circle was out of town. Who else was he going to hang out with? Even if he did suffer from temporary insanity for a bit and experiment with hanging out with freaks," (she said that part extra loudly, and Allison wondered for a second if that part was meant for her to hear, then quickly dismissed that thought) "it's not as if he'd ever date anyone outside our group seriously. He knows better than that. Samantha may not be wealthy, but at least she has status. I think she's going out with Dan Hogan now, anyway."

The brunette, called Annabelle, smiled. "So, I guess that means Andy is finally all yours for the taking."

"Well, duh. I'm pretty sure he's going to ask me out soon. He was flirting with me earlier before second period. If I have to, I'll make sure that every girl knows by the end of the week that he's off limits." The blond said loudly.

Allison didn't bother listening to any more of the conversation.

She began to think that maybe she hadn't made the wrong decision after all.

What was wrong with her? Why had she second guessed herself? She'd been crazy (which everyone thought she was anyway) to think she could ever have anything serious with Andrew Clark. It was like some grand cosmic joke. She had somehow deluded herself into forgetting that she hated the kind of people that Claire and Andy's friends were. She hated the hypocrisy, the criticism, the juvenile immaturity, the backstabbing, the social hierarchy. She hated it all.

There was a reason why she had not talked prior to meeting the Breakfast Club. There was a reason she'd told Andy to eat shit. And there was a reason she had broken up with Andy in the first place.

She hated high school.

She was almost grateful to those bitchy friends of Claire's for reminding her that she had acted in everyone's best interest. She loved Claire, and she cared about Andy, but she wanted absolutely no part of their worlds outside of the Club. She should just leave Andy to go back to his jock straps and his preppy parties and his cheerleader bimbos.

She had made her decision, it was the way things had to be, and now she had to live with it.

Elsewhere in Shermer, both Bender and Brian had been trying to find each other and/or Claire ever since they'd parted outside of the library. Both to no avail.

For Brian's part, he'd been in a whirlwind of questions ever since Saidie kissed him.

When it had happened, Brian had felt like he was practically floating on air. He knew as long as he lived he'd never forget that kiss, his very first. From the way his heart beat rapidly right before it happened; and the feel of a girl's soft, puckered lips against his; to the thrill of knowing that that quirky, lovely girl had initiated it—the way she'd pulled him into her and the way it made him feel oddly masculine and strong that she had to stand on her toes to kiss him.

It had been very quick. There was no tongue or swapping saliva. There hadn't even been any parting of the lips. And in a way, that was what made it so special to Brian. There was something innocent about it. It had been short, sweet, and entirely exciting. In short, the kiss Saidie had given him had been just like everything he liked about her.

When it was over, Brian hadn't known what to say or do. He kind of stood there entirely shocked and happy, probably looking quite dumbfounded. She had looked up at him, and then her eyes flickered and looked down at the ground in an almost shy, nervous way that Brian found enticing.

Then she'd looked back up at him like she wanted to say something.

But she never had the chance. Before she could speak, or he could recover enough to speak, his friends Dell and Adam were on his heels.

"Brian! How was your summer, man?" Adam said.

"Um, h-hi Adam. It was fine." Brian said, flustered.

Dell was eyeing Saidie. "Weren't you in my History class last year?" he asked, not impolitely, but somewhat coldly.

Saidie, always seemingly oblivious to things like that, smiled at him. "Yeah, I think so."

Dell nodded, eyeing Brian.

"Um, guys, this is Saidie Heyer. Saidie, these are my friends Adam Parker and Dell Simmons."

"Nice to meet you." Saidie smiled at them and held out her hand. Dell hesitated for a moment and then finally stuck his hand out and shook hers. Adam didn't say anything and just stared in awe.

Saidie shrugged this off and turned back to Brian. "Um, I guess I'll see you later, Brian." She waved at him and was gone.

His friends looked at him as if he had grown another head. "Who was that?" Dell asked.

"Yeah, you two were standing awfully close together." Adam said, as if he were accusing Brian of murdering his mother or something.

"I told you. That was Saidie." Brian said, getting frustrated.

"Yeah, but how do you know her?" Dell questioned.

Brian sighed. He wondered what it said about him that he'd never really told his best friends about all the things that had happened to him and around him since his birthday. These had been his friends since elementary school, and Bender and Claire knew more about his life lately than they did. But it wasn't like he had anything to hide.

"Okay, fine. Um, in May? When I said I met a girl? But I never said anything else about it? It was her. We've been, um, hanging out…"

Both Adam and Dell burst into laughter. "Get real, man." Dell said.

"Okay, if you don't want to tell us who she is, that's fine." Adam giggled.

"Um, what do you mean?" Brian asked, confused.

"Brian, come on. We know there's no way you'd date that…_girl._" Adam practically spit out the word, as if it tasted bad on his tongue.

"Although," Dell said between laughs, "it would explain his attire today, and his look."

Adam and Dell walked off, still in stitches. Brian had no idea what was so funny, but he couldn't waste time thinking about it.

He needed to find Bender, or failing that, at least Claire. He had to tell him all about what had happened with Saidie, and on top of that he had a million questions. How did he know if he'd kissed her back right? How could he tell if she'd enjoyed it? What should he do next? Did _this_ mean that Saidie was his girlfriend now?

As the bell rang, he realized Bender and his girl wisdom would have to wait.

Little did Brian know that Bender had been looking for him as well. He had some questions of his own.

Bender had managed to play it cool in the library that morning, but once he'd had a moment to himself, after separating from Freddie, he began to drop that façade, even if only internally.

The truth was, he'd wanted to be reunited with Claire just as badly as she'd wanted it. Her kiss told him that she hadn't forgotten what he'd said to her on the last day of school. _"When we get back, it's gonna be you and me."_

And Bender then realized what a stupid fool he was. What a complete and utter idiot.

That had been his own unique way of asking Claire to be his girlfriend.

He had experienced a lot of things in his life. But he had _never _had a girlfriend. And he'd never planned on having one.

And now he'd somehow managed to lose his mind and convince Claire Standish—a real live teen queen, a richie, a girl who wore pink and listened to Madonna, for fuck's sake—to go steady with him, like some stupid little prep teenybopper. He'd broken his no commitment rule.

For the future prom queen, no less. He was a complete and utter idiot. A hopeless, crazy-about-Claire-Standish dope.

How the hell was he supposed to pull this off? What the hell did this mean? How were boyfriends of rich Queenies supposed to act? And how the _fuck _was he supposed to be her boyfriend when they had all agreed that they weren't even going to be friends in school?

Freddie had asked him about Claire, and he'd given him the short version of the story. Freddie had just laughed. And, really, it wasn't as if Bender could have expected much more than that from hm. Freddie was a cool, nice, laidback guy who was fun to hang out with. But he had less experience than Bender with girls, had never had a girlfriend either, and wouldn't be caught dead dating a girly girl princess type.

Which was fine, but Bender needed advice. And there was only one place he was going to get it.

Brian and Claire seemed to have grown close. In fact, Bender had picked up on the fact that Brian seemed to be the one Claire revealed all her girly secrets to, and he also now knew Bender better than anyone but Freddie and Saidie. If anyone could help him figure out how he was to proceed as Claire's "boyfriend" without totally losing himself in the process, it was definitely Brian.

Like Andy, he'd hardly been able to concentrate in class with all this on his brain. Saidie had provided a brief distraction when she'd met him at his locker and babbled on and on about how brave she'd been in just grabbing Brian and going for it, and how great he looked, and how she'd barely even noticed at first that he was wearing _the _coolest shirt with her favorite band on it, and was he wearing it to impress her, and was Bender, by the way, responsible for this new look of Brian's, not that she hadn't loved the way he looked before?

But by lunch time Bender had had no run-ins with Brian or Claire or even Andy or Allison, and he was getting antsy.

He practically sighed with relief when, as he was standing outside the library trying to look cool, he saw the dweebie's flushed face coming toward him.


	3. Devil's Advocate

**_Well, here we are. Another chapter. As always, let me know what you think. PLEASE REVIEW. I can't know what you think without reviews. Remember, even a "you suck and you should stop writing" is better than no review at all. Criticism is always welcome. And very necessary for me to know if you guys even want me to continue. _**

_Oh brother I can't, I can't get through_

_I've been trying hard to reach you 'cause I don't know what to do_

_Oh brother I can't believe it's true__  
__I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you__  
__Oh I wanna talk to you__  
_

_-Talk, Coldplay_

Brian's face was flushed as he caught up with Bender.

"Hey, you okay there, Big Bri?" He asked.

"Um, yeah. Weird day, is all." Brian replied, reaching into his bookbag and taking out a brown paper bag and handing it to Bender.

"S-should we go on outside, or did you have plans with Claire or something?" Brian asked, nervously.

Bender raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be eating with the fellow dweebies today. Shouldn't you guys be having some kind of physics club welcome back party or something?" Bender quipped.

Brian shrugged, and it became clear to Bender that he had struck a nerve. "Well, I- I guess I should be eating with them, first day and all, but my friends…have been behaving strangely today. I think they may be avoiding me. So I thought I'd have lunch with you. You know, like last year."

"Gee, thanks," Bender said sarcastically, pretending to be hurt.

"Unless you're supposed to be meeting Claire?" Brian asked again, ignoring Bender's sarcasm as they walked toward the parking lot.

Bender rolled his eyes. "Of course not. She's eating in the cafeteria, same as always. Nothing's changed just because it's a new school year, dweebie."

"But, I thought you guys were dating now? That is, that's how it seemed this morning."

"We are. At least, whatever twisted version of…_dating_…two people like me and Claire could do. But that's not gonna fucking change either one of us. At the end of the day, I'm still gonna be me, and Claire is still….Queenie."

Brian nodded, understanding. He knew to accept that for what it was.

As they headed to Freddie's car under the trees, as they had done quite a few times last year, Bender said, forcing his voice to be dripping with sarcasm, "Which is actually why I'm so fucking thrilled to see you."

"Oh?" Brian inquired as they sat. Bender indicated that he didn't have any drugs on him today. Brian shrugged, not caring in the slightest.

"About this whole thing with me and Claire. I wanted to ask you if you think I might be in over my head." Bender stated it as the furthest thing from a question.

Brian thought it over for a bit. "You mean, do you two stand a chance?"

Bender nodded.

"I think it's going to be hard, definitely. Sometimes you'll annoy her, and sometimes she'll say or do something that really upsets you, but that is just because y-you both….I don't know, to me it looks like there's definitely something there. I think you guys are crazy about each other, and maybe, despite everything, in the end, that'll be enough. Or maybe it won't, and you guys will just be too different to make it work."

Bender's eyes turned downward. He'd never told Brian that those were the exact words that had caused them to stop trying after their first date, in the first place.

"You know, there are only so many places I could even take her. Like on a date, I mean. Maybe three. And two of those are places that we'd run into someone we know. And then what? What would Queenie really do if that happens? And even if it doesn't happen—how long will it be before the whole forbidden bad boy fruit thing gets boring? Especially when I have nowhere to take her?"

Brian knew the best way to get through to a hard head like Bender's was to play devil's advocate. "How long will it be until you get tired of Claire being a tease and nothing more? Or until you get tired of not having enough money for her, and her whole rich princess thing?"

Bender's eyes went wide at these words from Brian. "I _won't. _I'm not _that_ fucking screwed up or shallow, dweebie. Obviously I know by now that there's more to her than that. She can actually be kind of fucking cool."

"And she can't know that there's more to you than how much money you do or don't have? It's not possible that she doesn't care about where you can and can't take her? That she might like you for more than that? It's not possible that she might not get tired of your whole forbidden bad boy thing? That she might see enough in you to make her want to stand up to her friends?"

Had this been said by anyone other than Brian, Bender would have been furious. But that was the thing of it, really. He wouldn't have even been able to have these conversations with anyone but Brian. Not even Freddie. But there was just something about the kid that just made people want to open up to him. Bender thought that the dweebie should maybe put all those science books aside and consider a career as a therapist.

He smirked at Brian. "Well, look who grew some balls over the summer." He said. Then he sighed. "Okay, fine. Most of what you said, I'll give you that. I can buy it. I'll even buy that Cherry at least _believes _it. But it's the reality that's the problem. People get bored with each other, that's the way it goes. The world's an imperfect place. Just look at Sporto and Klepto." Bender said, almost smugly, believing he'd made his point.

The way Brian turned red and unconsciously shook his head let him know that there was more to it. "No, it's more complicated than that. Allison and Andy—trust me, that whole thing had nothing to do with either growing bored with the other. It's… much more complicated. " Brian insisted.

Apparently Bender wasn't the only one confiding in Brian.

"What do you know?" Bender asked. Brian shrugged. "I just…I'm pretty sure those two are as crazy about each other as you and Claire. And they've got issues to work through just like you two did. Theirs may be even bigger than you guys'."

It was Bender's turn not to be pushy. He reconciled himself to the thought that it was at least good to know that Brian could keep some secrets.

Then he smirked. "What about you and Saidie? Are you two 'crazy about each other' as you so elegantly put it?"

Brian blushed. Bender knew that no matter how old he got, no matter how much he and others might change over the years, if he and Brian stayed friends, Brian would always be the one person he'd have complete power over in the sense of having the ability to make him uncomfortable. He'd never take advantage of that power, but it was good to know he had it.

"Well, I don't think it'd be right to compare the two of us to you and Claire or Andy and Allison. She and I haven't known each other that long, and we haven't spent nearly as much time together as you guys have. Plus, you know, there was no…tear-inducing bonding conversation to bring us together like you guys in detention." Brian tried to joke.

But Bender wasn't falling for it. "You didn't answer the question, Bri. There's no time table for these things. Didn't I tell you that already?" Then he paused. "What happened with you and Saidie after me and Freddie left this morning?"

It suddenly looked like Bender was talking to a tomato, instead of a blond dweebie sophomore. "She, um, well she…it was…that is, there was a kiss. She, um, yeah…kissed me."

Bender looked him dead on in the eye, then rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Well, fuck me. Don't tell me that was your first one, Big Bri."

Brian took a bite of his sandwich and prayed for the bell to ring and put an end to the conversation.

Andy's lunch had been just as nerve wracking as the end of Brian's was. He'd decided on Sunday night that lunch time, while no one else was around, was the perfect time to go talk to his Coach and tell him that he wanted to quit the wrestling team, and the football team. Those had been his main two sports. He was good at football, and really good at rallying the team, but not good enough to get a scholarship. Wrestling had been what everyone was counting on to get him his scholarship. He liked football a lot, but he hated wrestling. He thought that maybe, somewhere deep down, he always had. Or maybe he subconsciously hated it because it had been his father's decision, and because his father had been a wrestler. Whatever. The point was, he wanted no part of it anymore.

His plan was to soften the blow by reporting that he wanted to stick with baseball. Baseball was the sport he really loved. It was fun, and his teammates were cool guys. The baseball jocks weren't walking stereotypes. And most of them weren't full of machismo.

If worse got to be worst, and his coach totally flipped out, he'd agree to do basketball too. Basketball could be fun. So long as the end result was that Andy got to stand up for himself and make his own decision. He just knew he needed the Coach on his side to talk his father down. Samuel Clark was going to go berserk when he found out about all this.

He'd wanted badly to have lunch with the guys—and this time, odd as it was, by "the guys" he meant Bender and Brian—to talk to them before he went to Coach Fuller. But they had been nowhere to be found. Andy scoffed, knowing that the two of them were off somewhere together without him. He'd needed someone to talk to; some reassurance that he'd at least have those two guys to pal around with if and when his other guy friends turned their backs on him for quitting the team. But he'd have to find them and tell them later. The thought actually made him smile to himself. He knew they—especially Brian—would be proud of him, and he was looking forward to having more free time to do things like just hang out and maybe even have another guys' night like the one they'd had last school year, shortly after they'd all met.

So, all of that was the plan. And it would have all happened if he hadn't had to walk past the art room on his way to Coach Fuller.


	4. Per

_Sometimes I wonder why she wouldn't stay__  
__What I should have changed__  
__Sometimes I wonder why it's been so long__  
__What did I do wrong_

_-Maxine's Interlude, John Legend __  
_

Andy had been lost in thought before he realized he was walking by the art room. Even though he wanted badly to be able to be mad at Allison, he couldn't resist the urge to look in. Because he knew it was where Allison would be right now, and because he remembered the last time he'd been in there with her and how happy he'd been in that moment. Of course, that had been before the fight that had almost ended their relationship and the entire Club for good, but that didn't matter. It was a great moment between them when they'd been in the art room together.

But now, as he stepped forward and peeked into the room, he was horrified by what he saw this time.

Alli, _his _lovely, unique, hard-to-understand Alli, was sitting with some boy, huddle closely together. They weren't looking at any art, and it certainly didn't seem like they were talking about art.

Andy remembered being huddled that closely to her in his car. He had always thought that he was the only person she'd allowed that close to her. And he'd just assumed all along that he and Bender and Claire and Brian were the only ones she talked to in school. He'd never seen her talking to anyone else, and she'd said she had no friends, before she met them. Who was this boy? Was he the reason Allison had broken up with him?

Andy thought about it for a second. Maybe he was.

It all made sense. She hadn't even liked Andy when she first met him. While he hadn't even realized that he actually liked her, he'd at least tried to reach out to her, and it had been like pulling teeth. He practically had to wear her down, even if Bender's words had implied that she'd fallen for him because of his vulnerability. Allison was interesting, kind, unique, from a well-off (if selfish and homophobic) family, talented, and obviously smart. Andy looked down at himself as he backed away from the art room. Who was he? Just some boring, average, dumb jock who might be popular now but would probably be an ordinary nobody after high school, while Allison would go on to probably live in New York or London or something schmoozing with the talented elite of the fine arts world or something.

While the whole Club knew Allison had been pretty much invisible to everyone but them, it shouldn't surprise Andy that eventually some other guy would realize that Allison was special, and would want her as well. Maybe Allison just hadn't wanted to hurt his feelings or his pride by telling him she was dumping him for another guy.

After leaving the art room, Andy decided to head back to the cafeteria, and his jock friends, instead of going to talk to Coach Fuller. Maybe he shouldn't quit wrestling just yet. Maybe it really was the key to his future? What else did he really have? Being with Allison, and hearing the way his so-called friends Dan and Will had talked about her had made him realize that she inspired him to be better; be more. But was giving up the one thing he had that might help him be someone someday, at least for a little while, _really_ worth it? When he had Allison around, seeming like she saw something more in him, he'd have done it in a heartbeat. And not just for Allison, but for himself. But without her, he just wasn't so sure giving up wrestling was smart. He wasn't sure he had the confidence.

He told himself he'd go to one last practice. One practice, today, on the first day, and if when it was over if he still felt like he was done, _then _he'd give it up for good.

When Allison had gone to the art room that day during lunch, it had been the best she'd felt since saying goodbye to Frank and her other brother Simon. While she was in Florida, she'd enjoyed hanging out with her brothers; the only two people she felt like she could be herself around, without having to even put on her protective weirdo armor. But when she'd gotten back to Shermer and that cold and lonely house, she remembered just how much she missed Andrew, and how much he'd actually meant to her, and how important the friendships she'd had with the Breakfast Club were, and how scary that was.

Because of them, she'd actually started talking. Multiple times a day. And not just to her parents on occasion, or even just to the other four members of the club. She'd been briefly introduced to Brian's friends Adam, Dell, and Dano once, and she now said "hi" to them when she saw them. She knew of Bender's friend Freddie, and had formed an almost instant connection with his friend Saidie at The Hut, who she could tell right away was a kindred spirit with her; even more so than Bender.

And then there was Per, in her art class. She and Per had become, at the very least, acquaintances over the last few months of the school year. He was a rare breed; one of the artsy kids who actually wanted to fit in with the groups like Claire's and Andy's. Because he was pretty honest about that fact, and practically drooled over them with envy, he (like Allison) wasn't very popular among the art kids. Allison could have been if she wanted to be, but she was a loner by nature.

Because Allison was so sensitive, she'd befriended Per when he reached out to her. He'd tried to hit on her—not in a sleazy way, but just in an "I'd like to take you out and be seen with a girl" sort of way. Allison had sidestepped his advances; partially because of Andy, but even without Andy in the picture she wouldn't have dated him anyway because (unlike Andrew) she knew the only reason he took notice of her and sought her friendship was because of her Claire makeover. But as sensitive as she was, she couldn't resist an opportunity for companionship, so she when they were around each other they'd gotten to be on friendly terms.

While Andrew was spying on them, what they'd been doing together was listening to music. Per, who always complimented Allison on being a much better artist than him or anyone he knew, had asked her about what inspired her, and she'd simply said, "music." What Andy had seen was Allison introducing Per to the type of mellow, emotional music that meant the most to her. They'd been whispering about The Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning, and had been sharing headphones so as not to disturb Ms. Hyde.

What Andy had interpreted as an intimate connection between Allison and Per had been nothing more than Allison sharing her deep, emotional and spiritual connection with music with someone who had cared enough to ask.

Andrew had just never thought to ask. Allison knew that he wasn't the type who cried at everything and definitely didn't get all emotional about music and the way words and guitars could touch a person's soul. But Allison liked that about him. She'd liked that he was sweet, the way he always seem so tired from trying to be a good person and please everyone, and she liked that he was so simple yet complex, sensitive (though he'd always try to hide it) yet strong, and so easy to be with and not exhaustingly difficult like she knew she could be.

She would have died inside if she knew that Andrew had been watching her with Per and had gotten the wrong idea.


	5. Clones

_There's only so much I can do for you  
After all of the things you put me through_

_Oh, I'm lifting you up, I'm letting you down  
I'm dancing 'til dawn, I'm fooling around  
I'm not giving up, I'm making your love  
This city's made us crazy and we must get out_

_-Must Get Out, Maroon 5_

While the other four members of the Breakfast Club were having their lunchtime escapades, Claire had spent lunch in the cafeteria with her girlfriends. Her lunch period hadn't been as emotionally taxing as the other Club members. But it had been, as she would say, a total drag. Annabelle was completely silent and lost in daydreams the whole time, Erica was giving Claire dirty looks when she wasn't asking her suspicious questions about guys and her summer, and Charlotte wouldn't shut up about Andrew and what she was going to wear tomorrow to impress him. It had been all she could do not roll her eyes every second of lunch.

But it had made her decide that the Breakfast Club definitely needed to get together that afternoon.

She had to do something to get Allison and Andy back together before Charlotte got her claws into him. it wasn't that she didn't like her friend anymore, or that Charlotte was necessarily always a bad person. In fact, she was a decent, funny, strong person—whenever she wasn't around Erica. Erica was the real problem. She was sharp, conceited, mean, challenging, and strong and authoritative. She and Claire were friends, but they often clashed. The only reason they became friends was because they were expected to be; their parents were friends and they ran in the same circles with the other popular kids. Erica needed popular girls on her side and in her group, making her look good; and Claire knew it was better to be on Erica's good side than to risk getting on her bad one, and facing her wrath.

She was the only girl in school more popular than Claire, and everyone but Claire wanted to be her. But no one more than Charlotte. Charlotte was basically an Erica clone. She did everything Erica did, believed everything she said, and when Claire cried about pressure to Brian in detention, she knew there was no one who felt the pressure more than Charlotte did. She had even been dyeing her hair blonde like Erica's for as long as Claire could remember.

She had to keep Charlotte from worming her way into coupledom with Andy. She just had to. And not just because Allison was a friend that she truly cared about. But because she cared about Andy, too. And as much as she liked Charlotte when she wasn't acting more like Erica than her actual self, as long as Charlotte was under Erica's thumb she wouldn't wish _that_ on Andy. Besides, Andy was the one who kept her strong, in the times when she came close to being a total bitch and giving in to pressure. She knew if Andy hooked up with one of the girls in her group, he'd go rightly and deeply into stereotypical jock mode and there was no telling how lost she would be without him. She had to somehow stop him; help him get back together with the girl he really cared about.

(One could only imagine if her caring about Andy would have been so much the case if she knew about the secret and rumors Andy knew about her but didn't do anything about.)


	6. After School

**A/N I'm becoming a bit concerned about the direction this is going. These characters are so good and complex that they are difficult to capture. Please let me know what you think. I hope I am doing the characters justice and that I'm successfully continuing what I started. Tell me what you think. Is this a good direction? What would you like more or less of? **

_Take all your fears__  
__Pretend they're all true__  
__Take all your plans__  
__Pretend they fell through_

_-Out Of The Blue, Julian Casablancas_

Claire tuned her friends out (she'd have to figure out what was going on with Annabelle later) while she tried to figure out how she could get in touch with the group by the end of the day before they all left—without actually talking to them at school and risking social suicide.

_Pull them out of class? _Nope. How the hell would she even do that? Sure, she was practically queen of the school (or, at worst, princess in line to take the throne after Erica graduated) but that only meant she had power over the other students, and at best a few select teachers who adored her. There was no way she could pull off having the authority to pull four students out of class, although Bender at least probably wouldn't have been a problem.

_Coerce another kid into being a messenger for her? _Nope, by the end of the week it'd be all over school, whatever she sent the poor kid to tell the others. That defeated the whole purpose.

_Pass notes? _A good plan, but that was the whole problem. She didn't know any of their class schedules, so how would she get a note to them? And even if she did, she'd be seen giving it to them. If she knew where all their lockers were, she could stick notes in each one. Last year she'd known where Brian's locker was and Allison's, but it was a new school year, and she hadn't seen any of them since the library that morning.

But she knew where Brian hung out between classes (he'd often duck into the library), it wasn't a big deal if she was seen passing a note to Andy (except that she didn't want anyone thinking she had a crush on him or anything), she knew what doors Allison used when she left school for the day, and she knew someone who usually hung out outside the boys' room on the first floor near the brainiac classes, oogling the smart girls; _he_ would know where to find Bender.

As soon as the end of lunch bell rang, Claire excused herself from her table, and left the cafeteria, pulling a pen and a piece of scrap paper out of her purse and scribbling a sloppy note as she walked.

She beat Brian to the library. He was looking down at his feet as he walked, and almost walked into Claire.

"Oh, um, excuse me, I'm so sor-sorry. Oh! Hi, Claire!"

"Hey, Brian." She smiled at him. Then she put a finger to her lips as if to say "shh!", then got a sip from the water fountain as she slyly dropped a piece of paper on the floor.

Brian, ever the gentleman, went to pick it up and was going to hand it back to her. But when he looked up, she was already gone. Brian sighed and shook his head, until he looked back down at the paper and saw it was folded with his name on the outside.

As he walked into the library to pick up a book he had on hold, he unfolded it and read it: _Brian, meet the Club at my car in the back lot fifteen minutes after school ends. Love, Claire xxxooo_

Brian blushed and smiled at the pure girly-ness of Claire's note. But it felt good to have someone pass a note to him.

Claire's next move was to find Freddie. She waited on the wall opposite the door that led outside to the burnout wall. Several burnouts came inside before Freddie walked in. At first he didn't see her. She cleared her throat loudly and Freddie looked in her direction. Her eyes got wide and she tilted her head suggesting for him to come over. He did so inconspicuously.

Claire stuck something in his hand as she met him halfway and purposely bumped into him, making it look as if she were handing him money or as if she were hitting him for daring to breath the same air as her. She knew he'd know what to do with the note she was handing him.

And he did. He sauntered over to Bender's locker and said, "Hey, man. I didn't know that you getting a girlfriend would mean I'd have to play messenger boy." But he was smiling. And then he handed the note to Bender, who read it, covering with his book, as he sat down in his next class.

_Criminal, See you after school? Fifteen minutes after the last bell, meet me and the others at the back lot. –Princess_

She at least knew the general area where Andy's locker would be—on jock hall. Their lockers were all together, near the basic classes, since that's what so many of them took, either by requirement or for the easiest grades.

He was there with his friend Stubbie. Stubbie was trying to talk to Andy while Andy had the same annoyed look on his face that he'd had when Vernon had made him help move the heavy rack to block the door in detention.

As Claire walked up to them and greeted them, she handed Andy a piece of paper and said, "Here you go!" as if he was expecting a delivery from her.

As she walked away, she was glad that she'd remembered to code her note to Andy, expecting that someone else might read it, as he was normally as surrounded by jocks as she was by her girlfriends and cheerleaders.

_B.C. 3:15. Criminal's spot. Dinner club? _

Stubbie read it over Andy's shoulder. He scratched his brow. "What the hell does that mean?"

Andy rolled his eyes. "Uh, nothing. Just a note on this book from Mr. Stinson's class. We were thinking of studying together. Can't believe he's giving a test the first week of school. It sucks."

Andy didn't believe Stubbie would buy it, but he just nodded. "Yeah, man. Mr. Stinson blows."

And that was the end of that.

After school, Claire kissed Annabelle's cheek and said goodbye to her. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. I've got to get home and start on this book for Mr. Stinson's class."

She hid out in the bathroom, pretending to fix her makeup, until she heard the halls empty. Then she came out, practically running to the front doors. She really hoped today would be one of the days when Allison's parents forgot to pick her up.

She opened the front door to find Allison sitting alone on the steps, and sighed with relief.

"Hi, Alli!" she said cheerfully.

Alli looked up at her. The only person she'd spoken to all day was Per. She smiled up at Claire's friendly face.

"I thought you'd be gone by now. Where are your friends?" Allison asked.

"Gone. Come on." She said, nudging Allison. "We're meeting the boys in the back of the school."

They hopped into Claire's car and drove around back.

Andy and Bender were sitting there waiting on the back steps. They appeared to be arguing about something.

"You don't know what you're talking about. He was a highly overrated player, I don't care how good he was. I can think of many fucking players better than him, and it ain't just that, Sporto. He was a raging misogynistic idiot and a racist to boot, anyone with fucking sense knows that. And if you don't see that you're just as much of an idiot as I originally thought you were."

"Look, I never said the guy was a great humanitarian. I'm just talking about quality of the game." Andy started to retort.

The guys stopped talking as they heard the sound of Claire's heel approaching. Claire thought it was weird to see Bender and Andy discussing what sounded like ball players, together. She hadn't even realized Bender was the kind of guy who liked sports. She'd just thought he was anti all organized activities.

But all thoughts of guy talk went out of her mind as Bender pulled her in ad kissed her. She didn't even notice Andy and Allison left to stand there awkwardly eyeing each other. Andy tried to smile at Allison.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi." She said back, biting her lip. She realized she wasn't quite sure how to act around him anymore.

Bender cleared his throat, bringing them back to attention again. Allison turned to them as Andy kept his eyes on her.

"So, Cherry? To what do we all owe the honor of your summons?" Bender asked.

"Well, we should, like, wait for Brian." Claire said.

"Has anyone seen him since this morning?" Allison asked.

"I'm here!" Brian's voice called behind them. He was awkwardly walking toward them quite quickly, trying not to stumble over his own two feet, with Saidie at his side.

"Hi, guys!" he said, almost out of breath, as he caught up with them. Sadie stayed silent next to him, but waved at Brian's friends. Brian eyed her with his peripheral. Should he be the one to re-introduce her to the group, or should he let Bender? She was more Bender's friend than his, after all.

But, no. This year was all about the new Brian. The Brian who would be more than just a brain. He was going to be less awkward, stutter less, and spend a little less time in the books. He was going to be cool, or at least normal, or he'd die trying.

He cleared his throat. "Guys, you remember Saidie, right? Saidie, you remember Claire and Andrew and Allison." he said. Claire nodded, Andy waved to her, and Allison smiled at Saidie. Saidie waved to them all again, and stood proudly by Brian's side. "I invited her. Um, to hang out." Brian finished.

"No shit, Big Bri." Bender said, and Brian blushed, and cursed himself internally for doing so. But Bender smiled at him good-naturedly and gave him a "What ever did I do?" look with his eyes. Brian decided to let it go.

"So, again, I ask, to what do we owe the honor of your summons?" Bender asked.

"Well, I um, was like, thinking we could all hang out. It's been a long day, and I thought we could go get dinner, maybe, and talk about how everyone's first day went."

"I can't tonight. I'm having dinner with Frank." Allison said softly.

"Um, I'm supposed to be walking Saidie home." Brian said, nervous but proud. "She's going to let me borrow one of her Jane Austen books."

"Yeah, and I'm sure Sporto here has practice of some sort he needs to be getting to." Bender retorted.

"Oh," Claire said, clearly deflated. Andy didn't respond.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Princess." Bender said suggestively, sliding his arm around Claire's waist. "We could still hang out. Under the bleachers. Or, hell, in your car, in the backseat." He smirked when Claire turned red and hit him in the chest. "Bender! Not in front of everyone." She tried to whisper, but they all heard.

"Um, we could meet in the library tomorrow morning?" Brian said, trying to cheer Claire up. Claire looked around at them. Andy and Allison nodded, and Bender shrugged.

"I'll bring breakfast for everyone." Claire said.

"Can Saidie come?" Brian asked hopefully. Saidie chipped in, "Uh, no, that's okay. You guys should hang out. Really, it's okay. I don't want to intrude on your little group. We can all hang out some other time." Saidie said nervously.

Bender's nostril flared. "Saidie. You can fucking come if you want." He said.

Saidie just shook her head. "Some other time." Brian and Bender could both tell she didn't feel completely comfortable around the group yet. Or at least one of them.

"So we'll see each other in the morning? Bright and early?" Andy asked. They all nodded. "Now that that's settled," Bender said, taking Claire's hand, "to your car, Cherry."

Claire blushed but followed him.

"I guess we should go, too. 'Bye, guys. See you tomorrow." Brian said, as he and Saidie left.

Andy stood there looking down at his shoe. "Um, I guess I better go, too. Back inside. Yeah. I'll see you."

Allison squeaked, nodded, and turned to start home.

Brian was nervous all the way to Saidie's house. He could tell she was, too, because she didn't say much of anything. At first. Then she said, "So, I can't believe you've read most of Austen but never read _Sense and Sensibility. _It's my favorite book. I could read it all the time. I feel weird saying it, but it's so romantic. Lost loves, reconciliations, broken hearts. Ugh, it makes me cry every time I read it."

"Um, is it anything like _Pride and Prejudice?_" Brian asked.

"Ugh, much better. You know, I know it was Austen's most popular book and all, but really, as good as it is, it doesn't hold a candle to _Sense and Sensibility. _Or even _Emma, _for that matter. Anyway, _Sense and Sensibility_ is about these two sisters who both fall in love. One of them with an absolute jerk, because she's silly and young, and the other with a good man who…well, you'll see. But you'll like it. The way they get their hearts broken but find their way to love again…it's a great story." She was so excited about what she was talking about she didn't even realize it when she took Brian's hand in her own. Brian blushed, but gripped her hand tighter.

"Sounds great." He said. At that moment, he would have read anything she asked him to.

When they reached Saidie's house, both her parents were there. Brian was nervous about seeing them again, but they both smiled warmly at him. He relaxed a little.

Saidie led him to her father's small study. He sat down on a couch as she searched for the book.

"Ah, here it is." She said finally. She grabbed it and handed it to him, their hands touching again. She sat down beside him on the couch, her eyes flickering again. Brian swallowed nervously. It was now or never.

"Um, Saidie? I don't want to sound weird or lame or anything, but I was wondering. I'm not quite sure how to ask this, but…are we… I mean…are you my…sorry, I'm not really good at this kind of thing at all." He said, smiling nervously, sweat starting to build on his forehead.

Saidie smiled at him, and kind of moved closer to him on the couch. "I know what you mean. And, yes, that's fine with me."

Brian smiled back and relaxed even more. This time, it was him that leaned in to kiss her.

And this kiss was not like before. It lasted a little longer. Their lips almost parted this time. Saidie even put her hand on his face. Brian almost moaned when she finally pulled away from him.

He realized he had taken longer than he intended to in getting home. "Um, I better get home. Gotta get some homework done if I want to get started on the book tonight."

Saidie nodded, unable to speak. "'l'll see you tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded again.

"'Bye, Saidie." He kissed her cheek after she'd walked him to the front door.

Brian was unbelievably happy as he walked home. He couldn't believe he had a girlfriend now.

He was so wrapped in his own mind that he almost started (_as they'd say in one of those Austen books_, Brian thought) when he saw Andrew Clark sitting on his front steps.

"Andy? What are you doing here? I mean, um , hi. Of course. But what are you doing here?"

Andy sighed tiredly as he stood up. He ran his hand through his hair and said, "Hi, Johnson. Sorry to just show up like this, but, um. I need a favor. Can I stay here tonight? I just, I just can't go home."

**A/N Well, that's all for now! I hope you guys have found these chapters to your liking. I know they're not my best, but they (hopefully) keep the story moving. **

**What is next for Brian and Saidie? Will The Breakfast Club embrace her? Why did Andy show up at Brian's house? Find out more next time...**


	7. Lost Jocks and Temperamental Brainiacs

_Ice has covered up my parents' hands_

_Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans_

_-Neighborhood #3 Power Out, Arcade Fire_

Brian climbed the steps to his bedroom with Andrew following close behind him. He had gotten past his mother by telling her that Andrew was a student he was tutoring.

He had thought he was speaking with his mother in private in the kitchen, having left Andrew in the living room with the remote for a minute. But Andrew had overheard him.

At which point Andy wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for Brian, or to be a little confused about him. Were things so bad with his mother that he wasn't even allowed to have friends over unless it was about studying, or was he too embarrassed having a dumb jock nobody over around his highly intellectual family, to admit that Andrew was his friend?

Before Andy could think too much about it, Brian reentered the living room. "Come on. W-we'll go up to my room so we can talk. Okay?" Andy nodded and followed Brian through the first floor to the stairwell. He realized that Brian's house was pretty similar to his own. Both he and Brian were from Average Joe, middle class, suburban backgrounds. Yep, everything they'd learned in detention was more and more turning out to be true. The two of them definitely weren't so different at all. Brian was pushed to his mental limits by his mother; Andy was pushed to his physical limits by his father.

He wanted to ask Brian about what had happened downstairs, but Brian stopped him by speaking first.

"So, um, what happened? I mean, people don't usually show up at my house asking to sleep over, you know?" Brian started. Andy nodded, understanding. If he'd been as observant of Brian as Bender always was, he'd have noticed that Brian was slowly becoming less and less awkward, and was stumbling over his words less and less. Bender had noticed it, and Claire was starting to. The only real question was where his slow development was coming from. Bender thought it was from trying to impress Saidie; Claire, in her own mind, thought Bender was rubbing off on him; but in reality it would end up being a combination of the two, motivated by his increasing anger, frustration, and need to rebel against the way his mother (and a lot of times, his father) saw him.

Andy cleared his throat, mentally preparing himself to open up to Brian. "I…I just can't go home. I can't go back there and deal with my dad tonight. I don't think I could handle it for another second."

Brian just sat down, his knees folded up under his chin (no matter how he dressed himself up; underneath it all, he was still the same old Brian), and nodded, encouraging Andy to continue.

"Did practice not go well or something, and you're afraid to tell your dad?" Brian asked.

Andy sighed. "I didn't go to practice. I mean, I did, but no one knew I was there. I just kind of watched."

Brian looked up at Andy, confused.

"You remember how you told me to think about what would be the best thing for me; that would be beneficial for me in the long run?" Andy asked. Brian nodded, remembering back to one of their last conversations at the end of the prior school year.

And then he proceeded to tell Brian everything. How he'd been all prepared to make his big announcement and thought that Allison would be so proud of him; how their breakup happened before he could tell her; how he'd been devastated but still thought she'd been a positive influence on him and he still wanted to show her and everyone else that he could think for himself by quitting things that didn't make him happy; how he'd almost changed his mind about quitting wrestling because losing Allison made him doubt himself, and how he'd watched today's first practice and knew that he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Now that I had the idea in my head of a having some semblance of a life doing what I want, and not just what my dad or the other jocks want me to do, I couldn't just go back to the way things were. That would suck. And it would just prove Allison was right about me, and I'd be like that forever. So I finally just got up, walked out, and didn't look back. I'm done with all that."

Brian smiled slightly. "That's…that's really good, Andy. Good for you."

Andrew tried to return his smile. "Thanks. But I'm not done. I left and went straight home. I just wanted to be by myself, to process things, and I was planning to tell Coach Fuller about it in the morning. But my dad was there when I got home. Most Mondays, he works late at the factory. So I wasn't expecting that."

"Why was he there early?" Brian asked, and then immediately regretted it. He felt stupid; he knew that that wasn't the important part of the story. But Andrew just sighed and hung his head, and Brian thought that, if it was even possible, Andrew looked even more exhausted.

"From what my brother Lyle said, there was some big issue at his job today and my dad was one of the people they let go because of it." Wow. Andy couldn't believe he'd just blurted it out like that. As tears formed in his eyes, he realized he couldn't think of a single other person he'd show any sign of weakness to, let alone this much vulnerability. No one besides Allison, that is. But she was gone. And that thought sent the tears flowing out of his eyes.

"I had no idea of the mess I was walking into. I knew my dad was going to flip when he found out I quit, but him finding out today…." His voice was starting to break. "He doesn't give a shit about me. I'm a machine to him. He reamed me out so badly I thought….I thought he was going to hit me at one point."

Brian's eyes widened at that, and he was overcome with sympathy, and thoughts of Bender. He had one friend with an abusive parent; if he ended up having two, there was no way he'd have been able to ignore it and do nothing (which they were all sure Bender wanted them to do).

"He called me every name he could think of and told me he wasn't going to allow me to throw my life away, and demanded that I apologize to Coach tomorrow for missing practice, and that I go work out to make up for what I missed. I told him to leave me alone and just forget I exist, and I walked out." Every word was a tremble by this point.

"I didn't know where else to go, so I came here. I don't want Stubbie and my other friends to find out that I quit this way, and I don't know where Bender lives. Plus, Allison will barely even talk to me, and I couldn't ask to stay with her or Claire, of course. Even if she does think her parents wouldn't notice or care… I'm sorry to intrude."

At the mention of Allison's name, Brian's mind and heart were wracked with guilt. Should he say something? He could tell that what Andy really needed right now was Allison, and he knew, if his conversation with Allison at the end of last school year had been honest, she still had feelings for Andy and had only broken up with him for selfless reasons in an act of self-sacrifice.

Should he tell Andy about that conversation? Would Allison be mad at him if he did? Would it even do any good? Just because Andy wasn't a wrestler anymore didn't mean his status as a jock, and the friends he had, would change. He hadn't said anything about quitting baseball; and he'd mentioned taking up basketball, and Brian was an optimistic enough person to believe that Andy's friends wouldn't just drop him because he quit playing some high school sport. So there would still be the issue of Andy's friends getting in between Andy and Allison.

But, still. He liked Andy, and he really cared about poor, sweet, sensitive, Allison. They both deserved to know the truth.

"Um, Andy, I don't know. Maybe you should give Allison a call. She's still your friend; she'd be willing to listen, and what you just told me; that's some pretty major stuff. I think she still cares about you, and would want to know."

Andy seemed to think on it a second, and then shook his head. "No. No, she's made it very clear that she isn't interested in me. If I call her and tell her any of this, it'll just make her feel obligated or like I'm trying to use pity to get her back. No, I'll tell her and the others tomorrow at breakfast. They'll all find out, anyway. By the end of the week, it'll be all over school, anyway."

Brian rolled his eyes, the same way he'd done at Claire's conceit in detention. Andy managed to catch that, and realized what Brian must have thought about what he'd just said.

It was time to change the subject. Now was as good a time as any to ask Brian the question he'd wanted to ask him since the Monday after detention, but had never gotten up the courage to.

"Hey, Brian? Um, I know this is going to sound strange, and random, but I…I just want you know that I never forgot about what I did to Larry Lester. It's been on my mind every day since it happened. And I've always wanted to ask you what happened to him? I never saw him around after that. But don't think I didn't want to apologize to him. I just never got the chance."

Brian's impure light blue eyes met Andy's own clearer, darker blue ones with a confused look. "What do you mean? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't want you to think I'm heartless. I'm not. And I wanted to know what happened to him?"

Brian still looked confused, though his face was going ashen, the way it did when he got angry. A little known thing about Brian was that he had a bad temper. People thought he was just some calm, weak kid who made an easy target, but what the Club would eventually come to find out was that Brian's ferocious temper was not to be messed with. It wasn't the Benders of the world, or the jocks of the world, that other kids should be afraid of: It was Brian Johnson's wild temper.

"Why are you asking me? Because you assumed that Larry was my friend? Because we're both non-jocks, weak, brainiac weirdos, we _must_ be friends? Well, I can tell you, us weirdo brainiacs aren't like that. We don't think we're better than anyone just because we're smart; we don't all hang out together, and we don't _only _hang out with people like us. Unlike some other social groups who use their social status to exclude others, I hang out with whoever is willing to hang out with me. We don't have some secret dork club or something that we're all in." Brian's breathing got heavier as he spoke, and his face got even more ashen.

"Johnson, I didn't mean anything like that. I swear. It's just that in detention, you said—"

"—I said I _knew _him. I never said we were close buddies or anything." Brian snapped.

"Oh," was all Andy could say.

"You know who _is _friendly with him? Who does hang out with him sometimes? Saidie Heyer. You know, Bender's friend? The non-white girl who listens to rock music and is an athlete but sometimes wears girly clothes, has dork classes but hangs out with burnouts? Maybe you should ask her. Larry goes to her church. I only know that because she told me when I was telling her about our detention. So, she knows what you did Larry. Funny how she didn't hold that against you when she met you. You know, kind of the way Allison had to come up with the outside-of-school thing because she knew you and Claire would hold it against her and Bender and me that we're the freaks; the weirdos?"

Brian had to catch his breath, he was so angry. He'd had about enough of the conceit of all the popular kids who looked down on him. To think Claire had said people like him looked up to people like her and Andy. Why would he want to look up to anyone with that kind of attitude?

Andrew was dumbfounded. Why did it always seem like he was putting his foot in his mouth, lately? All he could do was apologize to Brian for offending him, which he dd.

Brian saw the look on Andrew's face and immediately felt bad for what he'd said. While it had been true, he knew that this wasn't the right time to be laying all of this on Andy.

But Andy had been the one to bring up Larry. Brian wondered what had made him do it. Maybe the memory of what he'd done to Larry really did still haunt him.

The boys say in silence for at least fifteen minutes before Brian completely calmed down.

"I-it's okay. Andy. I know you didn't mean anything by it. You're already going through enough. I'm sorry about the whole wrestling thing. And I'm sorry about your dad."

Andrew just nodded.

"D-do you know, um… what you guys are going to do now?" Brian asked softly.

Andrew shook his head. "That's part of the reason why he's so adamant about me going back to wrestling and football. I already wasn't going to be able to afford college; not when my dad's raising four boys on a single income. I mean, we've been doing fine, comfortable even most times, but a college tuition has always been out of the question. I know my dad. If he doesn't find something soon, and if I refuse to go back to wrestling and football, he'll probably try to send me away to my mom or something. One less mouth to feed."

Brian didn't know what to say to that. Though he'd been upset with Andrew a few minutes before, he certainly didn't want to see Andy sent away; not when he was so close to finishing school (only two years left) and not when they'd all only just become friends and all found each other to talk to.

"Well, I-I hope something will, um, turn up so, well, uh, you know… so that doesn't happen." Brian said.

Andrew just looked down at his shoes in response.

"I'll go, um, get you some sheets and stuff; you can share my bed if you want and we can sleep on different sheets so it won't be uncomfortable, um, you know." Brian said.

When he came back, he and Andy passed the time before and after dinner talking about what Andy should do next. Andrew Clark had never felt so lost in his entire life. What he hadn't told Brian was that he was pretty sure even if his dad tried to send him to his mother for the remainder of his high school time, she probably would 't even want him anyway.

As mad as he was about his dad, he was beginning to understand why his father was so tough on him, and why Mrs. Johnson was so tough on Brian. His dad just wanted his son to be tough so he could get through the hard times in life, and to get a scholarship to a good school so he'd have a shot at a decent job and not have to worry about affording his family. And Mrs. Johnson probably just wanted Brian to be successful so he could have a better life than the obviously crappy one he was having in high school. Brian told him during that night that he had a feeling his mother resented his father; that she'd married him because he was so smart in school and she'd thought that would mean big money one day. She now resented him for never living up to that potential, and wanted to make sure that didn't happen to their son.

Andrew started to think that maybe their parents all _thought _they were doing what was best for their children, and just had cold ways of showing what Brian, in detention, had called "parental compassion." Maybe they all thought loving and raising children was about doing whatever was necessary to prepare their kids for the harshness of adulthood, even if it meant being cold and hurting their children a little in the process.

Maybe even Bender's father had some twisted way of thinking that by hitting his child and calling him names, he was just toughening Bender up for the harsh way the world treated people who came from… well, where the Benders came from. Andy didn't think it excused such behavior, but it was an idea nonetheless.

Maybe, Andy thought, all of their parents were just as lost and torn inside, as they all were. Even Bender's. Even Allison's.

Not that it made any of their parents any less crappy. It didn't even mean that any of them should forgive their parents. Andy certainly didn't plan on forgiving his father.

When the boys finally went to bed that night, neither of them slept very well. Andy was thinking about how much he and Brian had in common, and how that was probably what had led him to Brian's house after he'd aimlessly wandered the streets for about thirty minutes that afternoon. When Brian did finally fall asleep, Andy crept out into the dark of night to go for a jog and figure out what to do next with his life, knowing that he dreaded the rest of the week ahead.

Brian was thinking about Larry Lester (who he hadn't seen since "the incident" either), and how after detention none of them had ever really mentioned him again, perhaps so as not to hurt Andy. They'd sort of almost pretended the incident never happened; the same way they'd never brought up anything about what they found out about Bender in detention. Both of those were sensitive subjects that they never ever brought up, out of compassion to Bender and Andy. But it seemed almost cruel, to Brian, to just pretend that neither were the reality, when both of those things were still very much a part of their lives. He finally fell asleep wondering how long it would be before both elephants in the room came back to bite them all in the butt.


	8. Update

Hey gang! Okay,first off,let me say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the awesome reviews. They mean a lot and so glad people seem to like the latest chapter.

Now,for the bad news. Unfortunately I've had a major computer issue occur,and that means no new chapters for at least a week or two while it is fixed. But that just gives me a lot of time to think and make the next two chapters that much better.

In the meantime,I have a question I wanted to raise. I've been thinking about adding some other characters from a few other Hughes films. I used to be adamantly opposed to this,but given that his movies are all supposed to take place at the same high school, it make sense that some of the characters would know each other. So,I considered adding a few characters,in a very minor way. Like, they'd be in it about the same amount as Bender's friend Freddie. That's how big a role they'd play.

So, my question to you guys is,what's your take on that? Do you think it'd be a good idea or a bad idea for me to do this? Let me know in the reviews if you'd like to see a mini crossover or not.

So, here's what's coming up in the next chapters when my computer has been fixed.

1) What went on between Bender and Claire in the car after the others left

2) The fallout from Andy's announcement,and Allison's reaction

3) Andy and Saidei share a moment. That's not a typo. I did mean Andy.

4) What happened to Larry Lester

5) Annabelle surprises Claire in a way she never expected.

6) Saidei fails to be accepted by one member of the group, and Brian has a minor freak out that leads to a moment of connection and honesty between Saidei and that member of the group.


	9. Speechless

_Feels so strange, it feels so crazy to be in your world  
In your arms, lost for words, you've got me  
_

_You got me  
You got me speechless_

_-Speechless, Beyonce_

**A/N Well, I'm back! Finally! Had some time to think of a lot of cool ideas, so hopefully upcoming chapters will be pretty awesome and enjoyable. This one is kind of short, but I just wanted to get back in the swing of things while I have time. Enjoy and review! **

While Brian had been spending time with Saidie, and Andrew's life had been tumbling into crisis, Claire and Bender had been in their own personal heaven in Claire's BMW.

As Bender climbed into the front seat next to Claire, he realized that, while he'd mastered the art of playing it cool in public, he was actually a bit nervous right now. This was the first time he'd _really _been alone with Claire since that fateful arcade date all those months ago. And, while they hadn't seen a whole lot of each other at all since she'd gotten him to give in to the one guy, one girl thing, what they had seen of each other had been so good that Bender really didn't want that to change. He'd even maybe like to prove that he and Claire could go more than five minutes without ripping into each other. And since he knew their alone time together would always be rare (social structures and obligations and all) he really didn't want to spend it at each other's throats like they had been for awhile prior to the last day of school last year.

But fuck that. He couldn't let her know how nervous he was. Even if it meant taking a risk of starting another war with the Cherry.

He turned to her and put on that smooth, asshole John Bender persona and smirk. "I'd ask you if I'm keeping you from something, Cherry, but seeing as how you practically stalked all of us to get us to hang out tonight, I take it you must not have any plans with the fellow princesses tonight? No gossip about who said what to who at whose locker? No country club meetings tonight?"

But Claire was not about to play that game. She was not about to let Bender tease her and ultimately pick a fight so easily.

Well, the second part, she wasn't about to let him do. The teasing? He might be able to get away with that part. Depending on what kind of teasing he was planning on doing.

Claire just smiled at him. She could see (and practically _feel) _Bender being disappointed that he hadn't gotten a rise out of her.

"Well, actually, I was supposed to hang out with my friend Annabelle. She wanted me to help her pick out an outfit for tomorrow. I told her I'd stop by her house later. I wanted to hang with you guys, you know? I'm kind of, like, bored with being dull old pristine Claire, you know?"

How did Bender's smirk manage to get even wider? Claire usually loved that sexy smirk, but not when it was making fun of her. "So you decided to rebel by turning down picking out clothes with another richie? You're a wild one, Cherry. Hope Daddy doesn't take away your credit card for ditching the richie for the likes of me."

Claire blushed a little at that. But at least Bender's tone was teasing and not harsh and bitter, or even sarcastic. Then she got an idea. She decided to play another one of his games.

She looked over at him and directly into his eyes. "Oh, well I can play dress up with Annabelle any time. Why would I want to do that when I could be hanging out with you doing this?"

And then she grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pulled him close to her and kissed him as hard as she could. She even used her tongue, the way she'd been practicing over the summer (thank goodness for girly magazines with tips on how to give a guy a kiss he'll never forget, even though Claire would never, ever admit to Bender that she read anything of the sort.)

Claire slid her tongue in and out of Bender's mouth slowly, and made sure to finish the kiss by slightly sucking his lower lip for a second.

Finally she let him go and slid back over to her side of the car. And it took everything in her not to burst into laughter. She fought it so hard she almost choked.

John Bender looked like a child who had come downstairs on Christmas morning to find under the tree the one toy he wanted the most, but didn't dare ask for because he knew his parents wouldn't buy it.

He didn't say anything for at least a few minutes. Claire felt proud of herself for rendering the great John Bender speechless.

"Where the fuck did that come from?" Bender finally asked.

"Why? Did you not enjoy it?" Claire teased, pouting and drooping her eyes, the way she'd done when she was smoking with him in the library. She'd been able to tell that that Bender found that sexy. One of the good things about being a popular princess was being able to just instinctively know when a guy was into her.

Bender looked her up and down like he could barely control himself. Then her reached over, grabbed Claire, and practically pulled her into his lap. Then he kissed her the way he'd been dreaming about doing all summer. But he didn't stop there. He pulled off her jacket and begin to nibble on her neck a little. Claire scooted a little closer to him on his lap (neither of them cared very much that they were in an uncomfortable position.) Bender slid a hand under her shirt and up her back.

Claire was leaning into him and Bender was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven.

It wasn't until his hand had made it almost to her bra that things stopped.

Bender pulled his hand back as if he'd touched something hot. He knew he'd kick himself for stopping in about five minutes, but he couldn't do continue. Not like this.

Not after what Brian had told him about how frisky that loser Dan Hogan had been with Claire. He didn't want Claire to think of him that way. He didn't want anyone he cared about to think of him that way. Sure, he let people think he was like that (he had a reputation to uphold, after all,) but he could never be that much of an asshole. Not after Brian had told him how upset Claire had been about her date with Dan Hogan, and not when he'd been there to witness the aftermath of some of Saidie's encounters with some of the asshole jocks who thought it was their right to try to touch her whenever and wherever they wanted to.

But there was a difference between Saidie's encounters (and Claire's with Dan Hogan) and this one. Bender realized that, unlike those, this time Claire hadn't actually tried to stop _him._

And now she was looking at him with that innocent, confused look on her face, and Bender realized that it didn't matter that she hadn't stopped him. Even if she had been too caught up in the moment to stop him, this girl was so damn innocent and looking at him like she trusted him completely, and like she was ready to let him take the lead.

He wasn't going to take that for granted.

He rubbed her arm gently and motioned for her to get back in the driver's seat.

He was glad to see Claire didn't look offended or angry. It was as if she understood what had been going through his mind. And she looked at him in a soft way that was probably meant to tell him she was grateful for it.

He couldn't help but smile at that. Who'd have thought some richie princess girl from a totally different lifestyle would understand the rebellious John Bender so well?

"You're too fucking much, Princess." He said.

"You know, I, like, totally get why you stopped, and I really appreciate it. Because I probably wouldn't have been able to. But just because I might be inexperienced and not ready to do everything doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, right?"

Bender's eyes got wide. Where the fuck did this dangerous Claire Standish come from? "You're playing with fire, princess." He teased.

But then he got serious. "No shit, though, Claire. I wanna say something. This? This is as far as things need to go right now. Especially after how I treated you and all the stupid perverted shit I said to you when we met that day. I should have said this a long time ago… What I did under the table that day, in detention? It was an asshole thing to do. And I'm so fucking sorry I did it. I don't know why I do shit like that sometimes."

Claire hadn't been expecting that. She'd gotten so used to Bender's asshole behavior (they _all _had) that she'd just thought of it as part of the deal. An actual apology had always seemed out of the question. Especially for something he'd done months ago.

"Well, duh, idiot, obviously I've forgiven you. Like, that same day, even." She smiled at him reassuringly. Claire could see Bender sigh with relief at that, and smirk back at her.

"Now, can we please go back to where we were before? Or do you just want to sit and talk all night, when I _could _be showing you all the kissing techniques I've learned?" Claire continued.

Claire thought that would bring back out the animal in Bender. Instead, first, he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead and then her cheek.

Claire was just starting to realize that her scary, rebellious boyfriend wasn't quite so scary after all. If only people knew how gentle he could be, apologizing to her and giving her what she was sure her mom meant by "butterfly kisses."

She was just starting to have those thoughts when Bender went for her neck again, leaving her not only unable to think, but completely speechless herself.

She thought about all that happened between them as she drove to Annabelle's house later, as she drove home, and as she ate her dinner alone and got ready for bed. She thought about the things Bender had apologized for; the things he'd said in detention. And then she giggled to herself at what Bender would say if he only knew that she _wanted _him to do all those things to her...at least, some day.

**A/N Well, what do you think? Let me know. This was totally a filler chapter, so I understand it's not my best, for sure. **

**Coming up soon: Andy gets rescued from loneliness in a very unlikely way.**


	10. So, Now What?

_And every time I've tried to be  
What someone else thought of me  
So caught up I wasn't able to achieve_

_But deep in my heart  
The answer, it was in me  
And I made up my mind  
To define my own destiny_

_-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill_

Andrew Clark never, ever thought his life would come to this, but by the end of the first week of his junior year, one thing was very clear to him: he was beginning to wish he were more like John Bender.

He wished he had Bender's confidence. He wished he didn't care what other people thought of him, and that he had the rebelliousness that could make him okay with being alone sometimes, like Bender. And most of all, he wished he had Bender's courage so he could tell people to fuck off, or to kiss his ass, the way Bender had no problem doing. Sure, Andy could say the occasional snippy comment to someone whose opinion didn't matter to him, but he'd never have the guts to do it when it came to the people he cared about—the people who mattered to him, even when he knew they really didn't really care about him and their opinions _shouldn't_ matter.

The one thing that had gone well was telling the other three members of the Breakfast Club at breakfast that Tuesday morning. Claire had been in shock at first, but then she told him she completely understood. She even gave him a hug. Bender, to Andy's surprise, looked almost proud of him. "No shit, Sporto? Way to show some fucking balls, man." Bender said, patting Andy on the back.

Coming from Bender, a boy who definitely understood what it was like to have some serious father issues, that was about as great a compliment as Andy could hope for.

Allison didn't say much of anything, as expected, but Andy could tell she wanted to by the way she looked at him. She looked both surprised and proud. And confused. He wasn't sure why.

But he did catch her exchanging a few looks with Brian. Brian looked like he was almost pleading with her and Allison was looking back at him uncomfortably. Andrew wondered if this had anything to do with Brian trying to convince him to call Allison the night before.

He didn't tell them the other half of things. He didn't tell them about his family losing its one source of major income. He didn't want Claire's pity, or Bender's snarky comments about him not being accepted by Shermer's popular and elite anymore (or something equally asinine), and he definitely didn't want to be that vulnerable in front of the cold person that Allison had become, to him, again. Not when she had shut down on him and wouldn't return his vulnerability.

He himself exchanged a look with Brian. Brian gave him a dorky shrug, showing that he understood that Andy didn't want to mention the other thing he'd shared with Brian that night. He knew he could trust Brian not to say anything. Andy knew that Brian could tell he was a little embarrassed, and that made Andy embarrassed by his own embarrassment.

But he'd needed to talk to someone, and to be honest, Brian was the only one he'd have been able to share that with. He couldn't even talk about it with his own brothers, because they were basically clones of his father. They'd only tell him to toughen up. So he was happy to at least have Brian to talk to, or he'd go crazy.

Especially considering that the Breakfast Club's support of him had basically been almost the only good thing in his week.

Andrew had tried to remain hopeful about his friends' supporting him when they found out, but even he wasn't stupid enough to think he wouldn't catch some grief for dropping wrestling and football, and for no longer being able to go to some of the social events his friends went to.

Andy was able to avoid it all on Tuesday by taking different routes to his classes and avoiding jock hall all together. He didn't want anyone asking him questions about why he hadn't been at practice on Monday. He figured that after he talked to Coach Fuller at lunch, he'd just let Coach tell them. He knew it was the cowardly thing to do, but there it was. Maybe he should just quit even trying and just embrace his cowardice.

And then Wednesday came. And with it, time to face reality.

Some of the jocks were waiting for him at his locker that morning. Andy cursed under his breath upon seeing them.

Stubbie, his best friend, was the first to cut to the chase. "What gives, Clark? You on drugs or something?" he asked.

Andy rolled his eyes. "No, man." He pushed past all of them to get to his locker.

"So, what? You're just not going to explain it to us? Why you quit on us like that? And didn't even tell us?" Will badgered him.

Andrew huffed. "Look, man. I'm sorry about that. But I just couldn't do it anymore. Wrestling just isn't for me anymore. Football, either."

His friends looked at him, dumbfounded. "But you're Andy Clark. You're our star wrestler. That's who you are. How can you just give it up?" Another of the jocks, Brock, asked.

"Because I just don't want to do it, anymore! Why is that so hard to understand?" Andy snapped at them.

"Is this about your dad? Look, I know he can be kind of a hardass sometimes, but that's no reason to throw your whole future away." Stubbie argued.

"That's the whole point." Andy said, with the same aggression in his voice that he'd originally used on Bender in detention, "I'm trying to tell you that I don't _want_ wrestling and football to be my future."

The boys looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language. "So, if you're not going to be Andy the wrestling star, just who do you think you're going to be? What are you going to do with yourself?" Brock asked.

"Well, I'm still me. That's not _all _I am." Again, they gave him the blank stare. He sighed. "Besides, I'm still going to do baseball."

His friends laughed at that. "Baseball? Who cares about the baseball team? They're not real jocks like us. We don't invite them to our parties and hang out with them. You're not going to be popular being on the baseball team." Dan laughed. The other boys laughed and nodded in agreement.

Andy was not amused. "So, what are you guys saying? That just because I quit some stupid high school wrestling team then I'm just going to be a nobody at this school? That I'm not cool enough to hang out with you guys anymore?" He asked angrily.

Will met his eyes. "What we're saying, Clark, is that you need to come to your senses. Don't throw away your standing at this school, and your future after you leave this school. What we're saying is that we'll give you time to get your head on straight. But I really don't see what you'll have in common with us anymore, if you don't. Especially if this is about some freak chick who's probably convinced you to do this," Will challenged, letting Andy know once and for all that he definitely knew something about Andy and Allison.

Dan shook his head, looking almost sympathetic. "Look, Clark, we get it, man. Those freak witch bitches are probably real good at sex, but that's no reason to go all weird and ruin your future. Especially over some little one night stand slut you can't even be seen with in public."

Dan was an even bigger jerk than Andy had originally thought after the Claire fiasco. Andy couldn't take it anymore. He pushed Dan as hard as he could, almost knocking him to the ground.

"You don't even know her! Don't you talk about her that way! You don't talk to her, you don't look at her, and you don't even think about her!" He yelled, using the same menacing words he'd used on Bender in detention.

Dan collected himself, knowing that he'd never be able to take Andy, the former star jock. "You're done, Clark! Finished! Consider yourself a nobody at this school, as of now. You've turned on us." Will said, interjecting between Andy and Dan, and sounding a lot like his sister Charlotte.

Andy couldn't have cared less. He slammed his locker shut as the jocks walked away from him and out of his life. Stubbie hesitated a second, looking like he was debating whether or not to go along with the group or stick by Andy, before following off behind the others.

But then by lunch time, Andy realized the damage he'd done. Sure, he'd hoped that his friends would at least be somewhat understanding, but now he realized how he was almost glad to be finished with them and all their meaningless bullshit. He no longer had to be a bully to fit in and then go home every night crying to himself about the guilt. He no longer had to listen to mind-numbing conversations and spend his weekends either alone or out with these immature, mean, boys wishing he were alone. So, there was at least that relief.

But, what was he going to do now? Who was he going to eat lunch with? In a matter of minutes, he'd gone from being one of the most popular boys in school to not having any friends at all.

Well, that wasn't true. He did have friends. He had Claire, and Bender, and Brian, and even Allison. But that wouldn't change his loneliness at school.

Sure, he no longer had to worry about being afraid to be seen with Allison or Brian in school, but that didn't mean they'd want to be seen with him. Especially Brian. Andy knew Brian's friends probably wouldn't accept him, and he didn't want to put Brian in an awkward position. And awkward was definitely what it would be if he tried to spend time alone with Allison now that they were broken up. Andy didn't even think Allison would want him to.

And it wasn't like he could eat lunch with any of them. Claire still sat at the rich girl table, and Andy didn't think he'd fit in with them. Besides, there was only so much talk about girly stuff that he'd be able to take. And eating with a bunch of girls would be almost as uncomfortable as eating alone. He could eat with Brian and Bender outside, but somehow he didn't feel up to trying that either. They'd never invited him to join them. And if they'd wanted him out there, he was sure that they'd have invited him by now. Although he'd always been a little bitter about not being included, he didn't think it was right to intrude or invite himself in case he wasn't wanted.

Besides, Brian might be in the library during lunch. And if he was there studying, Andy certainly didn't want to disturb him.

Andy sighed. There was only one choice left. He'd just eat alone in his car.

Andy headed out to his truck with his lunch. He couldn't believe what he'd been reduced to.

As he climbed in and started on his sandwich, he looked up out his front window, where he had a clear view of the front of the school.

Walking across the parking lot and away from the school was Saidie Heyer. Andy couldn't help but be curious about what she was doing. He had just assumed she'd be eating with Bender and Brian.

Not only was he curious, but he figured it'd be a nice thing to do to reach out to her and get to know her, especially considering that Brian had been so nice to him.

It also helped that Brian's words from last night were in his head, about Saidie not fitting any high school cliques or stereotypes, and how she'd been nice to Andy when she met him, despite what he'd done to her friend Larry.

Before he could even think about what he was doing, he'd honked the horn, trying to get Saidie's attention.

She almost jumped out of her skin and looked in his direction. He wasn't sure if she saw him or realized who he was, so he stuck his head out of the window and waved.

She could see him now, and she smiled at him. "Hi, Andrew!" she said, and began to walk over to his car.

Andy could already tell why Brian and Bender liked her so much. She had only met him twice, and before that she'd found out what a jerk he was, but not only did she remember his name, but she looked pleasant and welcoming toward him. Andy didn't think he'd have remembered the name of someone he only met briefly twice, if it weren't for the fact that he'd heard Brian talk about her so much. But maybe that was part of his problem.

She walked over to the driver window. "Hey, what's up?" she said.

"Hi, Saidie. What are you up to? How come you're not headed to the cafeteria for lunch?"

"Oh, nothing. Um, I never eat in the cafeteria. Usually my dad picks me up and I eat with him in his office at the church, or I walk home and eat with my mom if she's there, or alone. You know, since I don't live very far away. Bender used to come with me, but he doesn't do that anymore. How come you're not in the cafeteria with your friends?"

So, Bender and Brian hadn't included Saidie in their lunches together, either. That made Andy feel slightly better, considering that she was Bender's closest friend and she and Brian were dating.

Andy blushed. "Well, that's the thing. They're not my friends anymore. We kind of had a fight. So I came out here to eat in my car. Pretty lame, I know." He said, looking down.

Saidie looked at him sympathetically. "Oh," she said. "That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you make up with your friends soon." She said sincerely.

Andy shook his head. "I doubt that." Then he had an idea. "Do you want to eat lunch with me?" he asked, looking hopeful.

Saidie looked at him with that warm smile of hers. "Cool! Um, we could go to my house, if you want."

"You don't have to do that. I know you don't know me very well, and if your mom's home she might think it's weird for some strange boy to show up. You can share my lunch." He offered. He didn't add that he'd spent the night at her boyfriend's house, and that Brian was the one who'd packed him a lunch today, taking extra care to make sure it was as packed as it always was and full of the hearty foods Andy always ate.

"Cool, thanks!" Saidie said again, and Andy motioned for her to hop in his truck. She did.

**A/N And there we have it. That's all for now. Next up: Saidie and Andy get to know each other,Brian has a heart to heart with Allison, and Charlotte causes trouble. **


	11. Everybody Talks

_So you don't know where you're going and you wanna talk__  
__And you feel like you're going where you've been before__  
__You'll tell anyone who'll listen but you feel ignored__  
__Nothing's really making any sense at all__  
__Let's talk, let's talk__  
__Let's talk, let's talk__-Talk, Coldplay_

Brian had been enjoying his developing friendship with Bender. He liked hanging out with him, and even smoking with him every now and then. He loved the fact that they'd gotten so close that they were the only ones who hung out together on school grounds, even if it was in private. He would never have guessed it, but he found Bender very easy to talk to. Once you got past all the sarcasm and bite, Bender was a pretty funny, cool, chill kind of guy. And he never really made Brian feel bad about being a geek. He only teased him affectionately about it. If it were up to Brian, he'd have eaten lunch with Bender every day.

But not on Wednesday. On Wednesday he dropped a note in Allison's locker. He wanted to spend lunch in the library with her. Brian was becoming a little uncomfortable with carrying around everyone's secrets. And if everyone was going to confide in him (which he didn't really mind at all—in fact he'd have enjoyed it if it weren't for the fact that his knowing everyone's secrets meant he knew when they were misunderstanding each other and causing themselves their own misery), then it was up to him to do what he could with these secrets to help his friends.

Ten minutes into lunch, when Allison hadn't shown up in the library, Brian began to worry that she might not come. He wouldn't have been surprised. Allison probably knew exactly what he wanted, and even though she was sweet and sensitive, she could also be unshakably stubborn.

But when he heard the swishing of her "jam bag" (he'd heard Andy call it that jokingly) against her jacket, he sighed with relief. She slammed down next to him, and he could tell she was not exactly thrilled to be summoned by Brian. It was as if she already knew what he was going to say.

Brian sat tapping his pencil as she went through her weird lunch routine. When she was done, he took a bite of his own sandwich, gulped, and said, "So. That's pretty big news about Andrew, huh? I mean, wow." He said, touching the side of his head and then gesturing an explosion with his hand, indicating that his mind was blown.

Allison just shrugged. "I think it's pretty stupid of Sporto, if you ask me. He needs a wrestling scholarship for college." She said. But Brian could tell she didn't think it was stupid at all. Deep down Allison was proud of him for thinking for himself, even if she did believe he was throwing away an opportunity.

"Um, well, he's got a job now. I think he plans on saving up some money from that for college. And, you know, um there's other kinds of scholarships, and grants even, financial aid, all of that, you know."

Allison just stared at him. Brian continued. "Anyway, I was, um, thinking about what you said. Back in June. About not wanting Andy to sacrifice his own happiness and future for you. And I thought that if that's why you broke up with him, like you told me you were thinking about doing, then, you know, it's kind of a moot point now. I mean, the guy's already made his decision, you know? There's nothing for you to worry about."

"What are you saying, Brian?"

"Well, I mean, you guys can get back together, now. You were afraid that you would make him give up his future, and he's already done it on his own, right? So there's nothing left to keep you from being together."

Allison got that teary eyed look she was famous for. "I…I didn't want him to do this. It's the exact opposite of what I wanted for him. What's he going to do now? And his dad is going to be even worse on him."

Brian nodded sympathetically. "You really do care about him, huh? I've… I've never known anyone who was willing to give up their own happiness for someone else."

"He's…he's different than I thought he was. He tries so hard to be a good person." Allison said softly.

"Allison, why don't you tell him how you feel? Tell him you only broke up with him for the sake of his future, and that you still care about him, and—"

"—No," Allison said, simply yet firmly. "I can't. It's not what he needs. Or even wants. He's dating other girls already. And, his friends still won't accept me."

"I don't think he cares about that, though, Allison. And those girls, I don't, I mean, he, and they… I don't think he cares about them like he does you."

Allison shook her head and squeaked. Brian understood. He knew what it was like to lack self-confidence.

"Allison," he began, "he spent the night at my house last night. I told him that he should call you, but he said that he didn't want to pressure you because he thinks you don't like him anymore. The guy… the guy is crazy about you. He got all upset when he was talking about you. I think…I think maybe those other girls are just, like, a distraction."

And when Brian looked at her next he could see the tears streaming down her face.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have mocked him for not standing up for himself. I was just putting more pressure on him. I don't want to be the reason his whole life changes. I don't want to be another reason his dad is making him miserable. And I don't want to be a reason for his other friends to hate him."

Brian didn't know what to say to that. He simply let Allison cry, and sat beside her in friendship.

Claire was late to lunch that day. When she finally made it to her table, all her friends were in an uproar, and some of the jocks were sitting with them, as were some of the other popular kids like Benny Hanson and Steff McKee.

"The guy just snapped. I blame his dad. The guy does something legendary, has to deal with his dad

when he gets detention for that hilarious stunt he pulled on that geek boy, and then Clark just loses it." Stubbie was saying.

Claire sighed. She really didn't want to have to listen to this. But what else was she going to do?

"What an idiot. What's he going to do about college now? Everyone knows his dad doesn't make the kind of money that, you know, ours make." Benny chimed in.

Now Claire understood why she and Steff were seated at their table. Usually they ate off campus. They were too cool to eat at school, even with the other richies. They just wanted to get the gossip on Andrew and gloat about how their dads could pay for college and Andy's middle-class dad couldn't.

Will shook his head. "I'm more concerned about who's going to replace him. I got a bad feeling that this is over some girl."

Steff, who was sitting near Charlotte, nudged her as he snickered. "Oh? Is someone moving in on your prize, Charlotte?"

Claire could see Charlotte fuming. Charlotte felt personally humiliated by Andrew. She'd made a fool of herself going after him, even though he'd always shown almost no interest in her, and that was especially hard for her considering that he wasn't one of the rich kids. But she'd looked past that because he was cute and a star athlete and was super popular. But now he wasn't going to be even those things. And everyone knew she'd gone after him. She looked like a fool among their group.

She had already began planning ways to make Andrew's life hell for causing her humiliation.

And not only that, but she was still hearing rumors about that freak girl. As if crushing on a nobody wasn't bad enough, to lose him to a freak bitch like that girl from Spanish class was even worse.

"Ew," Charlotte said, looking at Erica, who was sizing her up, "not hardly. I'm not interested in Andrew. He was just…entertaining for a while. You couldn't pay me enough to go out with him." Then she laughed and added, "Not that he could afford me, anyway."

The others laughed, and Claire could feel herself turning red. How could they all turn on him like this? Andrew was one of the nicest, most wholesome guys she'd ever met. He'd always been nothing but nice to these people, even when they were complete jerks to him. And they could just drop him and talk about him like this?

Steff rolled his eyes. "Well, that's a relief. I don't know why any of you wasted your time on him, anyway. The guy's a total waste. No class, no sophistication. He's the kind of guy who'd end up working at some menial job, getting fat on beer and trying to relive his glory days as some high school athlete."

Claire had had enough. "What is it to you, Steff? Why are you always so invested in the personal lives of other boys? You're always in everyone's business and everyone knows you're always trying to order Blane around and keep up with what he's doing. If I were you, Steff, I'd be a little more concerned about what people will think about your odd fascination with other boys and less concerned with Andrew Clark's future."

Claire would have felt proud of herself, but she really hadn't done anything all that brave. She'd never liked Steff anyway. It wasn't like she was standing up to one of her actual friends.

Steff struggled to find a response as the other boys laughed at what Claire had said and the girls looked at Claire as if she were crazy. Benny, especially, narrowed her eyes at Claire.

"What the hell is your problem?" she asked.

Claire blushed and shook her head. "I just don't get why everyone's making a monster deal over Andy. So he quit wrestling, big deal. Why does it have to be, like, front page news or something? Can't we find anything else to talk about other than gossiping over other people's lives?"

Erica glared at Claire now, and Claire knew whatever was coming wasn't going to be pleasant. "Okay. Sure thing, Claire. So, I heard you made mostly C's and a couple of B's last semester."

"Yeah. So?"

"That's funny. Because I thought, with all the times you ditched us last year to 'study', you'd be making straight A's. I mean, who studies that much and still makes C's, right, Charlotte?"

Claire's face was red again. She looked to Annabelle for support, but Annabelle just looked back at her sympathetically.

Charlotte looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Um, yeah. Yeah, Claire. So, that leads me and Erica to draw one of two conclusions. Either you're just really dumb, or you're hiding something from us." She said.

Erica looked proud of her clone. "So, which is it Claire?"

Claire wondered why it was so hard for her to stand up to her friends, when she'd easily been able to stand up to scary John Bender.

"I'm not hiding anything," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Really?" Benny chimed in. "Because Annabelle said you ditched her after school yesterday to go study, but Charlotte, and Caroline Mulford, told _me _they were pretty sure they saw your car in the back parking lot after school during cheerleading practice."

"Duh. It's not impossible that someone else has a car like mine." Claire lied. The girls looked at her like they weren't buying it. Charlotte looked almost smug.

"If you guys are going to treat me like a child and, like, give me the third degree, I'm just going to bail." Claire picked up her purse and her lunch and huffed off.

At least Andy's lunch time had turned out better than he expected. He had thought he'd be forced to spend lunch alone, but instead found himself in the company of, when he really thought about it, one of the most fascinating people he'd ever met.

As Andy handed Saidie a bag of chips, she asked, "So. What did you and your friends fight about?"

"They're jerks. They're kind of mad at me because I quit wrestling. And football."

"Why would they be mad about that?"

"Because they feel like I abandoned them. Left them high and dry. Well, maybe they're not so much mad at me as done with me. See, they have no use for me now, since I'm not one of them anymore."

Saidie's eyes bugged with shock at that. "Oh. Well, that just sucks. At least now, you know they were never your friends to begin with. If they were, you wouldn't have to be just like them to be accepted."

Andy nodded. He knew Saidie was right, but accepting that was a lot easier said than done.

Saidie continued. "I mean, look at me and my friends. Bender and I are nothing alike. Freddie and I are nothing alike. Bender's a rebel; I'm just some weird quiet girl. Freddie is this amazingly deep, hilarious guy; I'm just his sidekick. They don't care that I'm different from them; I don't care that they're different from me. They just kind of accept me. I think they like that I'm different."

Andy sighed. "I wish I had that."

"Yeah, it's the same with my other friends,too. I mean, I'm closest to Bender and Freddie, especially Bender, but I have other friends. Mostly outside of school. You know Ferris? We're cool, but he doesn't count. He likes everyone, and everyone likes him. But his friend Cameron lives close to me, so we're pretty good friends. He's kind of straight and narrow and thought I was weird at first, but we study together sometimes. And then I have a friend who I go to concerts with; you know, when it's the kind of music that Bender isn't into. He's kind of odd like me."

Andy looked at her wistfully. "See, you're a girl, so it's easier for them to be comfortable with you as is. It's different with boys. Male friendships are based on making fun of each other, competing with each other, giving each other crap about things. And it's way worse when you're a jock. You either fit in or you're out."

Saidie shook her head. "I don't think I could live like that. I wouldn't want to be friends with the kind of people who won't let me…well, you know, be me."

"Yeah, if I'd known what I was getting into before I became friends with them, I'd have never done it. But once you're in, I don't know. It sounds really shallow and stupid, but… I think everyone wants to be popular. And once you get to experience it, you kind of want to do everything you can to hold on to it, even if you hate it, because it's better than being invisible."

Saidie appeared to think on that some. "I don't think _everyone _wants to be popular. I mean, I never did. Most of the people I hang out with never asked for it. If I wanted to be popular, I'd hang out with people like Ferris more. But the very reason I don't hang out with him much in school is because he's always surrounded by people, and I hate that. I don't do well with crowds." She paused, sighing a little.

"If I wanted to be popular," she added, "I could be. It would definitely make things easier between me and my mom. She'd actually look at me as something other than a disappointment."

Andy looked at her with a surprised expression. "You don't get along with your mother?"

"Oh, we get along some. Well, I mean, I know she loves me, at least. But we're not close. I'm not the daughter she wanted. She wanted a daughter just like her. Someone prim and proper and girly and popular and…just the perfect little princess. But she got stuck with me; the weirdo tomboy daughter who wouldn't know the first thing about all that prep stuff. Sometimes she looks at me like I came from another planet. But I'm okay with it. That's how the other kids at school look at me."

That all sounded very familiar to Andy.

Saidie sighed again. "Wow. I haven't even told Brian that. I haven't even told _Bender_. He just thinks I have some perfect family and perfect home life."

Andy nodded, knowing what it felt like to be misunderstood.

"You know, I think you and Allison would get along really well. You two have a lot in common." he said.

Saidie smiled at that. "Yeah! I'd love to get to know her better. Your girlfriend seems pretty awesome. Unique. I like that."

Andy looked down at his shoes and took a sip of his soda. "Um, well, she is. But… she's not my girlfriend anymore. We broke up on the last day of school. Right after you and Brian left, actually."

"Oh," Saidie said, feeling like she had put her foot in her mouth. "I'm sorry. You guys were so sweet together. I could tell she was really into you."

Andy shrugged. He wanted to believe that, but if were true, why had she broken up with him?

"Yeah, it sucks. I was really into her, too. Still am. She's the most unique girl I've ever met. And she just got me. She saw past all that stupid jock stuff. She looked at me like I, Andrew Clark, the actual person, matter. Not just as the jock machine. I….I miss that every day. I mean, I still see her, but it's not the same."

Saidie nodded. "Yeah. I get that. I know all about unrequited love, unfortunately."

Andy was ready to change the subject before he could get too emotional. Baring his soul in front of strangers once had been more than enough.

"Um, I wanted to ask you about something. Brian was telling me that you're friends with Larry Lester."

Saidie bit into a chip nervously. "Yeah. He's my next door neighbor. And we used to have a ton of classes together. That is, before he left Shermer High. He was home schooled at the end of last year, and I hear he's transferred to the private school now."

So that was why no one had seen him. Andy felt even worse now. He had tortured a boy so badly that he'd made the kid actually leave school.

"Brian also told me that you know about what I did to Larry. And I want you to know it's been eating at me. Day and night. I think about what I did and it makes me sick to my stomach."

Saidie looked him right in the eye. Andy noticed that her eyes were so black, they should have been cold, icy, menacing, and empty, but there was something warm and inviting about them.

Saidie's voice was sympathetic. "Don't beat yourself up about it forever. I mean, sure, was it an awful thing to do? Yes. But does it have to haunt you forever? No. You can't take it back. And you're obviously very sorry about it. You should forgive yourself. I certainly don't hold it against you. He's my friend, but that one mistake doesn't make you an awful person."

Andy was relieved to hear someone close to Larry say that. He almost started bawling on the spot. But instead he just whispered a "thank you."

When he composed himself, he asked, changing the subject again, "So, how come all your friends seem to be guys?"

Saidie shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just used to guys. I don't feel very comfortable around most girls. They don't seem to like me very much. Please there's all that drama crap to deal with, with most girls. Guys are just so much easier. They're just fun. I don't feel like I'm being sized up and judged when I hang out with my guy friends. They just get me. Girls just….some of them irritate me. Others just make me feel bad about myself. But not girls like Allison, though."

Andy studied Saidie for a minute. "I get the feeling you don't like Claire very much."

"No! I mean, I wouldn't say that. I'm the kind of person who finds it almost impossible to take a disliking to people. I just don't think _she_ likes_ me_ very much. She looks at me funny, like I'm an intruder, and like she can't figure me out or something. Like my presences bothers her."

"Nah," Andy said, "she just takes a while to warm up to people. Plus, I don't think she was expecting Bender to have such a close female friend."

Saidie considered that. "I don't think girls like me interest her very much. I think she thinks I'm too weird."

Andy studied her again. "Yeah, but be honest. You don't care for her either."

"Well, I just don't _know _her. I don't think we have very much in common. I don't know. I mean, we've only met a couple of times."

Andy gave her an inquisitive glare that even Allison would have been proud of. "Okay, fine," Saidie conceded, "She's not really my cup of tea, either. But that's just because she and most of her friends haven't been very friendly to me or other girls. But if you guys like her, I'm sure I will when I get to know her."

What she didn't add, as they finished up their lunches before class, was that she was suspicious of Claire. She saw how much Bender liked her, and she worried that Claire was going to break Bender's very fragile heart. The same way Bender had once almost broken hers.


	12. A Truth Universally Acknowledged

**A/N Okay, so things have been pretty heavy for the members of the Club lately. Especially Andy. So I wanted to lighten things up just a little with some more trivial fun and some girl drama. **

_There's something about you that I couldn't tell  
And you were always crazy and I didn't like that  
There's something about you that I knew so well_

_To all those questions, I have no answers_

_-Hard To Live In The City, Albert Hammond, Jr. _

For Claire, there had been many moments since detention where she'd felt completely alone in the world, and misunderstood. Even with Bender, even with her brother Cooper (who she'd become even closer to after telling him about detention and Brian—because of course the one time he decided to pay attention to his clothes would be right after Claire had stolen his jeans and given them to Brian—and he'd told her how proud he was of her for trying to grow as a person), and even with Brian. Sometimes she still felt like no one completely understood her perspective on things, try as they might.

If only she had known that she wasn't alone; that there was someone out there just like her who'd have understood perfectly where she was coming from with things, because they were going through the exact same thing.

Annabelle McClain had been trying to get Claire alone since Claire had gotten home from Paris. She'd had lots of things on her mind that she'd started thinking about over the summer, and judging by Claire's behavior ever since the latter part of the second semester last school year, she had been almost sure Claire would not only understand but support her. But when she'd found it impossible to get Claire alone because she was always blowing her off (without really meaning to), Annabelle had wondered if it were a sign that maybe she should just forget about what was going on in her head, and let it go.

But after that lunch where Claire had told off Steff McKee, Annabelle had not only come to have a whole new respect for the girl, but she'd been more assured than ever that her first instinct to confide in Claire was correct. So, no matter how many times Claire accidentally bailed on her or postponed, she wasn't going to give up.

She finally got her chance one day at lunch when Charlotte was out of school for a great-aunt's funeral and Erica had to run home during lunch to change clothes because she'd gotten her period in the middle of class. (Annabelle, usually a very sympathetic and compassionate person deep inside even when she didn't show it, couldn't help but laugh at that. She'd been sworn to secrecy since no one else had seen, and she'd had to rescue Erica).

So Claire and Annabelle were all alone (as alone as they could be, sitting at the opposite end of the table where Ferris Bueller sat, regaling his admirers with his latest story) at lunch that day. Claire had made a point for them to sit at one of the popular, middle tables that were as far away from the jocks and from Benny's friends as they could get, without venturing into the land of the unpopular kids.

She hadn't known where to begin, but Claire had been picking up on Annabelle's distant nature lately the same way _she'd_ secretly been picking up on some kind of change in Claire.

"Annabelle? Are you okay? You're so quiet lately, and you always pick at your food and stare off into space." Claire asked.

Annabelle just shrugged, trying to find the words to start. Claire's face drained and her eyes got that odd protective, caring look that was usually only reserved for her brother or Bender or Brian. "You're not, like, anorexic or something, are you?" she asked in a panic voice.

Annabelle gasped. "No! Of course not. God, Claire. No way. It's just…I've had a lot on my mind lately. Especially here at school….Actually, Claire, that's why I've been trying to get together with you."

Claire put down on her fork and gave Annabelle her full attention. "Okay. What's up?"

Annabelle looked down and went back to playing with her food as she talked. "Claire…do you ever wonder about all this popularity stuff? All this girly stuff? Like, what I really mean is, do you ever wonder what's going to happen to us around this school when Erica leaves?" (Erica was a senior. Since she was older than her close knit group, it was why Claire was forced to tolerate people like Benny sometimes. Sometimes Erica's senior friends hung out with them.)

This certainly hadn't been what Claire had expected Erica to say. "Um, what do you mean?" Claire asked her friend.

"Well, I mean, our group. I mean, this is Erica's last year. What is going to happen to our group, to us, when she's gone? Charlotte doesn't seem to be all that fond of you and me lately—not that she ever was crazy about us. She mostly only puts up with us for our popularity and because of Erica. And once Erica's gone, she'll probably just start hanging out with one of Erica's and Benny's younger wannabes."

Claire nodded. She knew this was probably exactly what would happen, too. "Uh-huh…" she said, encouraging Annabelle to continue.

"So, then, it'll just be you and me next year. And I was thinking. I mean, I'd like to continue being friends with you, Claire, you're definitely the best one in our group. But, I was also thinking, will all this popularity stuff even matter next year? I mean, it'll be our last year in school, and we'll be all worried about exams and colleges and career prep and all of that. So, when we do have free time, we should make it count in our senior year. I don't want it to be all about worrying about what the other popular kids will think. Because it won't even matter anymore. I think that I'll want my senior year to be memorable; to be about doing what I want, not what everyone else wants. "

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Annabelle? Hon? What, like, brought this on? Why are we talking about this now? We're not even a month into our junior year."

Annabelle took a deep breath. "I'm getting to it. See, after that, I started thinking, why wait until senior year? Why can't I do what I want now? Why can't I hang out with who I want to hang out with and date who I want to date and why does it all have to mean risking social status…"

Claire, smiling, cut Annabelle off. "Annabelle! Is this about a boy? Do you have a crush?! Oh my gosh!"

Annabelle blushed under her brunette hair. Claire would know that look anywhere. She stopped teasing.

"He's not from our crowd, is he?! And that's why you've been so quiet and all distant. You're afraid to do anything about it because you're worried what other people will say if you pursue this thing with this guy." Claire blurted out.

Boy, did she know what that was like.

Annabelle nodded. "It's… this guy who was in my class last year. He seemed really nice. I don't think he's in our year; it was an elective class. But, I thought he was kind of cute, and… I don't know, interesting. And then I saw him at the beginning of this school year, and Claire, oh my god, he got even cuter. He's actually kind of hot. And so sweet. He's not in our group; in fact, most of his friends hate us just as much as ours hate him, but I've never liked a guy like him before. He's so different from all the boys we know, you know?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So, what's he like? Tell me everything about him."

Annabelle smiled dreamily. "Well, he's tall and handsome and he has an incredible smile, and he's really talented and he's bl—"

She was cut off by the arrival of Erica. "Who are we talking about, ladies?"

Claire and Annabelle exchanged looks. "Um, no one. Just what our dream guys would look like." Claire covered for her friend. "So, you made it back before the end of lunch."

And that was the end of that conversation. But Claire made a silent promise to herself to be a better friend to Annabelle and to help her figure out what to do about this guy, whoever he was. She definitely knew what Annabelle was going through.

Andy had spent the first few nights of the school year staying at Brian's house. After that, because he didn't want to get Brian in trouble, he let Brian and Bender talk him into going back home. Brian was convinced that Andy would take it out on himself if he didn't face his father and instead kept carrying all those emotions around. And Bender told Andy that as long as he let his dad get to him, keep him away from his home, from his brothers, that his dad was winning.

And Bender was right. He went back home to face the music, and he let his dad ream him, but things were different now. His dad no longer had the same hold on him. Not as much as he once did. Because Andy had gotten that first taste of doing things for himself, and there was no coming back from that.

As far as school, Andy had not made up with his friends at all. Not even close. If anything, they completely avoided him, and he completely avoided them.

He'd thought that maybe Bender and Brian would eventually invite him to join them for lunch, but no such thing had happened. Some days the two of them ate lunch together, but just as often Bender would make Brian go eat with his brainiac friends ("If you put them down for me, you'll be just as shitty as we all thought Cherry was going to be after detention", Bender had said) and Bender would either spend lunch on the burnout wall or duck off somewhere to make out with Claire.

Andy had gotten to enjoy Saidie's company. It had been awkward after they ate in his car that day; Andy hadn't wanted her to feel like now she _had _to eat lunch with him or something. But on some days, every now and then, when she wasn't hopping off to have lunch with her beloved father, she'd eat in the car with Andy.

"Your company is definitely better than trying to maintain an appetite while listening to my mother criticize everything about me if I go eat at home like I normally do," she joked, and Andy could tell that she didn't want him to feel like he was a charity case or something.

She said to him, "You should try to make up with your friends. Sure, they're not perfect, but maybe they miss you. Maybe they could learn from you and you could rub off on them or something." Andy admired her optimism.

But he shook his head. "I don't see that happening."

But Saidie could tell that he missed having guy friends to talk to. She knew that she and Andy weren't exactly friends; she was just some girl who was dating his friend; and they were just two people who happened to share a meal and a conversation from time to time.

But seeing what Andy was going through made Saidie realized how they definitely had one thing in common: a sense of longing. Andy longed for the friends he had lost, and she longed for the female companionship that she had never really had.

She'd been thinking a lot on what Andrew had said about her and Allison having a lot in common.

And that was why she'd smiled happily when she was coming out of her 5th period math class and saw Allison on the wall, waiting to get in. In fact, she practically walked right into her.

"Hi, Allison. Sorry about that."

Allison smiled at her and squeaked.

Saidie tried to think of something else to say. "So, you have Cassadine for geometry, too, huh?" Allison nodded.

And then Saidie noticed one of the books that Allison was holding, that she had almost knocked out of the girl's arms.

_Emma. _By Jane Austen.

Saidie smiled to herself. "No. Way." She pointed to the book. "Are you reading that for a class?" she asked.

Allison shook her head, and this time, she responded with words as well. "I… I just like her work."

Saidie nodded, happily surprised. "Are you kidding? I'm obsessed with Austen! Although, I have to say, I'm surprised to hear you like her as well. I never would have imagined you as an Austen fan." She said, just trying to be friendly and keep the conversation going.

Allison fixed her with a look. She hated all the stereotype bullshit.

Then she said, " 'I don't approve of surprises. The pleasure is never enhanced and—' ''

" '—And the inconvenience is considerable.' " Saidie finished the quote for her, adding, "Wow. I'm impressed. I think it's really cool that you're an Austen fan as well."

Allison shrugged. "A little girly for my taste, but I can't help it if she was brilliant writer. I'm more of a Bronte sisters girl, though." She grinned devilishly.

Saidie laughed a little. "Now that makes more sense. Doesn't surprise me at all."

Allison smiled back. "Do you like them?"

Saidie stood a little taller and said in a teasing, proud way, "Are you kidding? 'I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free—' "

"— 'I am a free human being with an independent will. ' " Allison finished, almost excitedly. Then she said, if a far off way, "That is one of my favorite quotes."

"Mine, too." Saidie said. And then she giggled. "Well, that and the infamous 'it is a truth universally acknowledged'."

Allison smiled again.

Saidie said, regrettably, "I guess I'd better get to class. But maybe we could hang out some time?"

Allison squeaked again, and stuffed part of her chin into her sweater in response.

Saidie smiled at her and walked off.

Claire, who had been walking to class (for once, alone) witnessed this exchange.

After her conversation with Annabelle at lunch, she'd been desperate to track down john Bender.

Hearing what Annabelle was going through made her appreciative that she'd been able to keep seeing Bender after detention. She had found him and pulled him back out to the parking lot and into her car and made out with him before class as furiously as ever. She wanted him to know that she really did care about him, despite all the high school bullshit, and that (while she wasn't in any rush for this to happen) if it came down to choosing between him and her girlfriends, she was pretty sure she'd choose him.

That makeout session had left her practically weak in the knees, and she'd gone back into the school as giddy as any teenaged girl had ever been.

And then she saw Saidie and Allison smiling at each other as if they were best girlfriends.

Claire huffed. What was it about this girl? Why did everyone seem to like her so much? What was it that everyone else saw in her that Claire couldn't see?

Claire knew that Andy and Saidie were now on friendly terms (he'd let it slip one morning at breakfast that they'd had lunch together once), and Bender and Brian practically acted like the girl walked on water or something. Bender trusted her with everything (Claire could tell that by the way he looked at Saidie) and Brian looked at her and drooled over her the way most boys drooled over Claire and her friends.

Not that Claire was jealous or anything. No, sir, it wasn't that she was jealous at all.

She just didn't understand what she was missing. There was something about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way. She couldn't put her finger on it.

And now it seemed she had Allison under her spell, too.

Okay, so the boys were one thing. But Allison? Allison was the one girlfriend Claire had who really meant something to her. And she had expected that Allison, of anyone, would be able to see right through Saidie and her bright eyed innocence and her naïve friendliness and her tomboyish charm. She'd expected Allison to be able to see…well, whatever it was about Saidie that Claire herself couldn't quite put her finger on.

She wasn't sure if she was just suspicious of the girl's friendship with Bender or if it was the Mama Bear in her being protective of her dear younger friend Brian.

And the girl's outfit that day wasn't helping. Today Saidie had pulled together a rebellious look of her own. She was wearing jeans that hugged her figure but were torn and ripped here and there, a cute girly shirt that had been transformed and cut so that it barely went down to cover her stomach and had rips and slits all down her arms, revealing the skin underneath, and…gloves. Leather gloves. A pair of Bender's fingerless leather gloves of all things. Claire would know them anywhere.

Claire tried to rationalize that it meant nothing. She knew that sometimes Bender slept over at Saidie's house. And she accepted that. She didn't like it at all, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she let it go.

But she thought it was at the very least weird to see someone wearing her boyfriend's gloves.

She took a deep breath and figured maybe she should reach out to Saidie. She told herself it was to get to know her for Bender's and Brian's sakes, but really it was more about keeping Saidie close until she could figure her out.

As she continued on her way to class, she noticed a familiar blonde head in front of her. She smiled to herself. Brian. Exactly the person she wanted to see right now.

She didn't call out his name, but as she walked to catch up with him as the hallways were emptying, she followed him around a corner near the library.

And before she could speak to him, she saw him being pulled into the closet by the gloved hand attached to the girl she'd seen talking to Allison a few minutes earlier.

The same closet she'd first kissed Bender in.

**A/N So. Where's Bender? He's here but not really here? Well, he had good reason. More on him later. He's the only one who's been in literally almost every chapter, so I gave him a short break to focus on the others and how their worlds are all starting to collide. Don't worry. Saidie's not going to take over the story either. But she's pretty present for Andy and in Claire's mind right now. **

**Who do you think Annabelle has a crush on? :)**


	13. The Closet

**_A/N I really hope you guys like this. This chapter, I threw in because it's just plain fun. And because I love Brian. And, okay, as a reversal of Bender and Claire always being hot and heavy. _**

_I could lose my heart tonight  
If you don't turn and walk away  
'Cause the way I feel I might  
Lose control and let you stay_

_'Cause I could take you in my arms  
And never let go_

_I could fall in love with you  
I could fall in love with you_

_-I Could Fall In Love, Selena_

Brian Johnson had been having a good day.

He'd made the highest grade on his Latin test and his French quiz. He'd had a fun lunch with his old friends that actually didn't involve talking about school, and _did _involve talking about movies other than _Star Wars, _which (although he'd never confess it to Dell and the others) he actually hadn't liked. Some random popular girl had actually spoken to him and started a conversation with him (he was still trying to figure that one out. Maybe she was working her way up to asking him to tutor her or something.)

And then there was this.

"This" meaning him finding himself being dragged into a closet by his adorable, sweet girlfriend.

Although those weren't quite the words he'd use to describe her right now.

She was anything but adorable, and the look on her face wasn't sweet. In fact, she looked…well, there was no other word for it than "hot."

Brian, ever the gentleman, had always hated it when guys called girls that. It never made any sense to him and always sounded a bit barbaric.

But now he understood it. Because as she sat there before him, sitting on a desk and swinging her short legs, Saidie Heyer was hot.

He had to admit, he was a little confused as to why she'd pulled him in here, and why she was looking at him so intensely.

Was she mad at him? Had he done something wrong already?

He looked down at his white sleeveless T-shirt and his jeans and shoes. He wasn't quite sure what to do; as Saidie wasn't doing anything but still staring at him.

"What's up?" he finally asked, trying to mimic Bender's coolness.

Then she smiled at him.

"Um, we should be going now. You know, to class. Um, can I walk you?" he asked nervously, still confused.

She smiled wider, then let her smile fade. And _then, _she let her eyes flicker and held up a finger and motioned for him to come closer to her.

And that's when Brian realized why she'd pulled him into that closet. And for the first time in his entire life, any thought of class or being late went right out of his head.

He moved to sit down beside her on the desk in what little room on it she wasn't taking up. But she gently grabbed his wrist to stop him.

Even with her sitting on a high desk, Brian still towered over her a bit. He looked down at her, asking a question with his eyes.

If only he could have read her thoughts. She loved seeing that hair near his eyes. She loved his eyes, period.

"I've missed you," she whispered. They hadn't seen much of each other, what with school work and Brian's Latin and Physic Clubs and her book club and softball and other activities, and with Brian being there for Andy.

Brian didn't think she could have been aware of this, but there was something both sweet and seductive about the way she said it.

Damn those practically black eyes of hers. They were going to be the death of him.

Later, when he thought about it, Brian would blame what he did next on Bender rubbing off on him too much.

He moved closer to Saidie and squeezed her legs to separate them so that he could stand between them. He whispered into her ear, "I missed you, too." They hadn't even really had time to have a date since school started.

Then he kissed her, intertwined his left hand with her right hand, and touched her face with his other hand. He slowly let his hand drop down to her shoulders.

_Big mistake to do that _. _Yep, definitely the product of Bender's bad influence._

At least, that's what he told himself, as his fingers touched Saidie's bare skin through one of the many slits down the arm of her shirt.

Maybe it was because he was a virgin. Maybe it was just because he liked the girl so damn much. Or maybe it was because her skin was just so soft and smelled like a mixture of baby oil and one of those girly lotions. But whatever the reason, the feel of her bare skin was able to wake up something in Brian that not a soul on earth, including he himself, could have known was there.

He touched her softly under every slit in that shirt, on every place her arm was bare. And then he pulled her in closer and kissed her harder.

And that made her groan softly. It must have awoken something in her, too, because she groaned again and then slid her tongue into his mouth, while also sliding her hands into Brian's back jean pockets.

Caught off guard, his hands slipped down to her hips.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until they both realized that neither of them had done anything like this before. Then they pulled apart, both catching their breath.

Brian blushed something awful, and Saidie sat there grinning happily. Then she grabbed his shirt collar, pulled him back to her and gave him another brief kiss. He looked at her and, unable to resist, touched her chocolate, smooth skin again (Brian wasn't sure why, but he wanted so badly to put his lips to that skin, to bite it) while she looked into his blue eyes. He could have stayed like that forever.

But eventually he let go of her shirt and Saidie hopped down off of the desk.

"I've wanted to do something like this since I saw you on the first day of school." She said, trying to sound confident, but not completely able to cover up her nerves and her disbelief at what she had just done.

Then she opened the door and was gone. Chains, ripped shirt, ripped jeans, leather gloves, and all.

And Brian had to lean against a wall to steady himself as he realized his virgin, Christian, brainiac, bookworm girlfriend was also kind of a sexy badass rebel when she wanted to be. And he wanted her to be. He wanted her to be more than he sometimes wanted to be that himself.

**A/N Whew. Okay. I really hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter. Please let me know what you think. Was it too much, or not hot enough? Realistic? Unbelievable? Something you'd like to see more of? Never ever do it again?**


	14. Facade

_Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly__  
__'Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering__  
__So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night__  
__And turn down all the lights and then I breakdown and cry_

_-Breakdown, Mariah Carey___

As soon as Brian opened the door and walked out of the closet, reality set back in.

He was late for class. By almost fifteen minutes. He was never late. And because of that, he didn't know the proper protocol for how teachers handled tardy students.

At least he had a good reason for his tardiness. A reason that would put a smile on his face for at least the rest of the day.

It had been the most fun and daring thing he'd ever done, next to smoking in the library with the administrative staff in the other room. And it made him feel like somewhat of a rebel to be in a closet with a girl, making out. The fantasy-turned-temporary-reality had been nice while it lasted.

But now it was time to go back to the real world, and be the real Brian Johnson.

He was just trying to figure out what he should do about class, when he saw Bender leaning against one of the exit doors. Giving him a once-over.

Brian blushed furiously. Had Bender seen him come out of that closet? What would he think? Brian knew how _he'd_ react if he saw his sister Emma coming out of some closet and some boy coming out right after her. Was Bender going to threaten him?

Bender continued to stare at him. Then his mouth slowly went into a grin. "Congratulations. You're a man, now, dweebie." He said dramatically and jokingly. Brian blushed again. _So, that answered that question. _

He opened his mouth to say something, but Bender stopped him. "I don't want to _know _about it, dweebie. If it were any other girl, sure. But I don't wanna fucking hear about what you did in a closet with my fucking best friend, who's practically family to me."

"So…you're not mad?"

Bender rolled his eyes. "Please. Where do you think she would have gotten the idea? She didn't come up with that on her own, that's for fucking sure. She stole one of my moves."

Brian grinned. Bender still stood there staring at him. Then he opened the side door leading outside the school.

"You coming or not, dweebie? Klepto's already waiting under the bleachers for me. I ain't got all day."

Brian hesitated for all of five seconds before heading towards the door. It wasn't like he'd be able to concentrate in class right now anyway. Not after that.

Brian, Bender, and Allison hung out under the bleachers in comfortable silence. Allison twirled around on the poles with her eyes closed, while Bender smoked and Brian just watched both of them.

Bender eventually broke the silence by saying, "So… Cherry tells me that Sporto's got it pretty fucking hard right now. What with quitting the wrestling team and his friends being the dickwads I always knew they were. I gotta say, even though Sporto has never been my favorite person, I kinds of feel bad for the guy."

Allison had stopped twirling, and locked eyes with Bender. "His friends? What about them?"

"What, Cherry didn't tell you? The assholes dropped Sporto as soon as they found out he was quitting wrestling. He won't talk to them, they won't talk to him."

Allison's eyes drooped at that. Poor Andy. It was like everyone who he cared about was abandoning him. Allison had broken his heart, and her own, to protect him and to keep his life intact, and he'd _still _lost the very things that she'd broken up with him to keep him from losing.

Allison was now exchanging looks with Brian. She knew he was practically reading her mind, knowing she still cared about Andrew.

Bender was looking back and forth between the two of them. "Ooooh," he said, in his teasing way he had, "you still like Sporto." He concluded, pointing an accusing finger at Allison.

Brian didn't know what to say, and Allison just ignored him, looking back down at the ground.

"So why the hell did you break up with him, genius?" Bender questioned.

Allison felt cornered, her eyes getting teary again. "No. It's just…Just because we're not together doesn't mean I'm not allowed to still care about him." She said softly.

But Bender was not so easily shaken. "Klepto. That was the whole reason you broke up with him, wasn't it? Because of his stupid airhead friends."

Neither Brian nor Allison answered, but the fact that they were now purposely not looking at each other told Bender that he was right.

Allison braced herself for some sarcastic, smartass remark, but instead Bender just sighed. "Well, I can't say I blame you. Sporto's such a fucking lost soul, he'd probably have done anything for you. And trust me, Klepto, you don't want that shit on your conscience. At least this way, you know it's not because of you. Sporto made his own choices. If he'd stayed with you, and things turned out the exact same way, and _you _were responsible? Well, like I said, you definitely don't fucking want that."

Allison closed her eyes again. "He's going to be okay, right? I mean, maybe now that he's had to deal with all this fallout, maybe he'll come to his senses and go back to wrestling and his friends and his normal life." She said.

Bender shrugged. "Maybe." He said. "Maybe this is just how it should have been in the first place. Us weirdo types together. Maybe Cherry and Sporto would have been right to choose their regular lives over us." He said, gesturing around at the three of them.

This caught Brian off guard. "I thought you and Claire were doing okay?' he asked.

"Oh, yeah, we're swell. I'm just fine with being Claire's dirty little makeout secret that none of her friends know anything about." Bender said sarcastically.

And that's when Brian realized that all his friends were miserable, but hiding behind a happy façade. Andy came to school every day as if nothing was wrong, Bender was hiding insecurities about his status with Claire, Claire was miserable pretending to be who her friends wanted her to be and faking that she liked it, and Allison was so clearly head over heels in love with Andy but doing all she could to make him believe she wasn't.

Brian was the only one of his friends who was even remotely happy.

"No," he said, almost in tears. "Andrew has made his choice. He doesn't want that life. His dad tried to threaten him into going back to wrestling, and he still refused."

"Threaten him?" Allison and Bender questioned at the same time. "You mean his dad was going to hit him?" Bender asked.

Brian sighed. He knew Andy might be mad at him for telling his secret, but he had to do something. They could possibly lose Andrew if he didn't.

"No. His dad lost his job. And because there's no money coming in, his dad is threatening to send him to live with his mother if he doesn't get a job soon, and if Andy keeps refusing to get back on the wrestling team."

He had their attention now. He could tell by the shock on both their faces.

He turned to Allison. "The guy's life is in shambles right now. No friends, no scholarship, no girlfriend, and no money. I think moving with his mother is starting to sound like a good idea to him. Allison, you might be the only one who can stop him. You-you need to tell him why you did what you did while you still have a chance. At the very least, you might be able to talk some sense into him and stop him from ruining his life completely."

He couldn't tell if he'd gotten through to her, because she refused to speak. Brian figured it was best to just let her process this new information.

While Bender had been venting about being Claire's secret from her friends, Claire had been in class, daydreaming about him.

Her friend Annabelle hadn't yet told her the name of the guy she had a crush on, but they'd spoken about him. Girls in Claire's group weren't usually insecure about guys, but Claire had never seen Annabelle so wound up over a guy. She was so worried the guy would see her as a total airhead and want nothing to do with her.

Claire was trying as hard as she could to be a good friend to Annabelle, but she didn't know how she could help her, without letting her know just how much she understood the situation Annabelle was in.

Which was why she was thinking about Bender while she was in class. She was beginning to think about telling Annabelle about Bender. Not just because it might help her commiserate with her friend, but because she was so happy with Bender that she wanted all the people she cared about to know about her boyfriend. As strange as it sounded, Claire was actually proud of John Bender. Proud to be with him. Proud of the fact that he made her want to be a better person.

Now, she just had to figure out how to go about telling Annabelle her little secret.

And speaking of secrets, when Brian Johnson got home that evening, he could barely get any homework done. His mind was more focused on Andrew than physics and geometry homework. He was worried about how Andrew was, and what would happen when Andy found out that he'd told the others about Mr. Clark.

Eventually he gave up trying to attempt his homework. Figuring that he could get back to it in the morning before school.

Just as he was about to watch some television before dinner, he heard a tap at the window of the den, the room he was in. "Dweebie!" he heard a voice say.

_What was John Bender doing at his house, using a window instead of the front door?_

Brian opened the window to let Bender in. "Um, hi. Um, what are you doing here?"

Bender climbed in and revealed a pizza he was carrying. "I've got great fucking news, dweebie. Something I've been working on for a while now. I got a job. It's official as of today. So as soon as I heard, I went to get a pizza to bring over here so I could tell you and we could celebrate."

Brian grinned from ear to ear. "You got a job? That-that's great, Bender, congrats, man!" He punched Bender in the arm in his uniquely dorky way. Bender smirked, holding up a Coke, and nodded his head in response.

"So, what kind of job is it?" Brian asked.

"I'm gonna be working at the radio station. I get to assist the jockeys with whatever they need and hang out with musicians that come to the station and shit like that. I mean, sure, it involves some menial tasks, but fuck, Big Bri, my own money and all. I don't need my fucking father anymore and maybe I could even do something nice for Cherry." Bender was practically giddy with happiness.

Brian smiled wider and sat down on his bed. "So, tell me everything." He instructed Bender. And that was how the two boys spent their evening.

Over at the Clark house, Andy had just arrived home. He'd picked up an extra shift at his job just so he could avoid going home and being around his father as long as possible.

He'd had just enough time to get home, change clothes, and start to reheat the dinner Lyle had cooked when the doorbell rang. Andy didn't bother making any attempt to get up and get it, since he no longer had any friends except the Club, and he figured it was one of the neighbors for his dad or some girl for one of his brothers or something.

But no one else must have answered it, because the doorbell kept ringing. Andrew sighed and went to answer it himself.

He was shocked to find none other than Allison Reynolds on the other side.


End file.
